


The Slayer's Wolf

by Buffyworldbuilder



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 55,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26638306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buffyworldbuilder/pseuds/Buffyworldbuilder
Summary: Two battered souls find each other for a night. Could it be more? Derek Hale goes into a club, looking for direction and finds Buffy. A Derek/Buffy pairing. Eventually, the Hunters that tried to slaughter the gang in Beacon Hills cause one of the Scoobies tremendous pain. As Buffy and Company set up shop in Beacon Hills, Buffy and Derek work to defend the town.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 18





	1. Pathfinder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is set right before the last season of Teen Wolf and a year after season 7 of BTVS. I am not including the BTVS comics in this.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf since I'm not Jeff Davis, or do I own BTVS because I'm not Joss Whedon either!
> 
> Warning: This chapter has an adult scene at the end. It's been a while since I've written one. It's not too bad, but it is there.

Derek Hale opened the door to the bar. The name Pylea flashed in red letters, lighting his way. He heard rumors about this club in Vegas. It was a sanctuary for supernatural creatures—not even enemies could do violence in it. The guy who owned it had gifts. He could set a person on their path. Since he left Beacon Hills, Derek had been drifting. At first, he felt content because he had finally achieved full control of his wolf—like his mother. Losing his Alpha mantle had made him feel more than a little ashamed, so the fact that he could let his wolf completely out made him feel like he had a part of her once again. Derek knew that she would have been proud.

The rumors of Ghost Riders hitting Beacon Hills and nearly destroying the town had reached him. He should've returned and helped Scott. But Scott was a true alpha. What could Derek really do that he couldn't? It seemed like getting people killed or having people betray him was all he was good for. All of his pack but Isaac and his uncle had been murdered just like his family. He hadn't been much of an alpha.

His self-loathing was interrupted by the voice singing on stage.

_ Spend all your time waiting _ _  
For that second chance  
For a break that would make it okay  
There's always some reason  
To feel not good enough  
And it's hard at the end of the day _

_ I need some distraction _   
_ Oh beautiful release _  
_ Memories seep from my veins _  
_ Let me be empty _  
_ Oh and weightless and maybe _  
_ I'll find some peace tonight _

_ In the arms of the angel _   
_ Fly away from here _  
_ From this dark cold hotel room _  
_ And the endlessness that you fear _

Derek stopped, staring at the beautiful blonde on stage, whose pathos rang out from her voice, drawing him in. The Sarah Mclachlan wasn't one of his favorites. Normally, these kinds of songs made him roll his eyes in derision. But the words of the song spoke to him. The woman singing spoke to him. He moved closer to the stage, cutting to the edge of the stage. She continued singing. Finally, her eyes met his as he leaned against the wall by the stage, listening to her sing the rest of the song.

_ It don't make no difference _ _  
Escaping one last time  
It's easier to believe  
In this sweet madness  
Oh this glorious sadness  
That brings me to my knees _

_ In the arms of the angel _   
_ Fly away from here _  
_ From this dark cold hotel room _  
_ And the endlessness that you fear _

_ You are pulled from the wreckage _   
_ Of your silent reverie _  
_ You're in the arms of the angel _  
_ May you find some comfort here _

_ You're in the arms of the angel _   
_ May you find some comfort here _

Buffy wasn't sure what made her pick this particular song. A part of her might be missing Angel and being in Lorne's club reminded her of that. Yet Angel was not a stranger. He had brought her comfort and pain, so she wasn't really singing for him since he hadn't been a part of her life in a long time. There was a restlessness inside of her, though, that seemed to be growing daily.

It was a year since they'd closed the hellmouth. Leading her slayers was taking every bit of her strength. She was visiting Las Vegas, helping set up a slayer house. The town had a strong vampire population since the tourists made it easy preying. It seemed like all she did anymore was lead, instruct, slay. The slayer side of her was in full control every minute of every day. She never got to do anything for the woman inside her—it'd been too long since she'd felt the touch of a man.

Now here was a man staring at her intensely as she sang, and every part of her was waking up and taking notice.

Lorne watched the slayer with the same level of intensity but for an entirely different reason. The Host knew what this one woman had done for the world, how she'd change it for all time, closing an entire hellmouth and raising an army of women just like her even if none of them would ever be _just_ like her. Like most heroes he knew, the weight of her responsibility was weighing on her, and she was searching for something more.

Reading her as she sang, he saw a door appearing in front of her. She could open it and change her path completely or she could stay on the path that she was currently on and remain a hero, growing stronger and lonelier. Hmmm. Lorne struggled with this one. His time saving the world with Angel had marked him. Now he knew that some champions just weren't meant to have it all—a home, family, love. Some were born to be a sacrifice, shaped by the fires of loss and pain. As the song ended, he weighed his options. Did he set the champion of all champions on a new path that would distract her from her current path, possibly affecting the world on a global scale or did he nudge her toward the happiness that was within reach?

Buffy came off the stage, forcing herself to break eye contact with the salty goodness that was staring at her with his piercing blue eyes. His build and scruffy appearance were so delicious, but she resisted going toward him as Lorne stepped onto the stage.

"Man, sweetheart, the hearts are breaking all over the room tonight!" Lorne said, grinning at her. "That was a treat, wasn't it?" The audience cheered even as a few glowered. She was the slayer after all, and some didn't appreciate her presence. "Tony is coming to share a Jackson Five favorite as I speak to my girl here."

They walked off the stage as the music for the next singer started up a minute later.

"Well, girl, I must say that really was a surprise and a gift," he said.

"Thanks," she said, flushing. It'd been too long since anyone had complimented her for anything that had nothing to do with fighting.

"You blaze like the sun even as darkness tries to push out all your light," Lorne told her.

"What did you see?" she asked.

"I saw two paths for you. The current path you're on is a worthy one. You will keep up the good fight as the forces of evil try to destroy you and your girls," he shared. He hesitated only a moment before plunging ahead. "But there's another one. A door is about to open that would lead you to a new place with a new group—a new love. This path will be hard as well, but you might find the personal happiness that your current path doesn't offer."

"Love? You see _love_ in my future?" Buffy asked surprised. For some reason, him seeing that for her had not occurred to her.

"Possibly," he said. Her stunned look made Lorne happy that he'd told her the truth. This woman deserved love.

A newcomer that Lorne had never seen in his club approached him. "Well, hello, handsome. How can I help you?" he asked. "Did you want to sing?"

"Not particularly," Derek said. "But you can introduce me to this lady."

"How can I do that if I don't know who you are?" Lorne said with a grin. He winked at Buffy, who smiled nervously at the new arrival.

This was the man she'd seen while she was singing. He was even hotter in person. Even though he wasn't as tall as Angel, he still towered over Buffy.

"Derek," he offered. "Derek Hale."

Lorne blinked, recognizing the last name. "Is your family from California? Beacon Hills?" he asked.

Derek nodded, not looking at the Host, his eyes trained on Buffy.

"I knew an alpha from there. A lovely woman. She came into my club in L. A. years ago," Lorne said.

"That was my mother. Hunters killed her. They killed my entire family," Derek admitted, compelled to share so that this woman might know something about him. "My baby sister and I escaped along with an uncle."

Lorne's eyes widened in dismay. The Hale pack had been large and strong. It would've taken a lot of fire power to take out such a pack. "I'm sorry to hear that. The world is less without her in it," he said.

Finally, the young man looked up at Lorne, hitting the clairvoyant with his gaze, his turmoil and his pain. Normally, singing gave him his insights into people, but this guy had so much emotion coming off him that Lorne had no problem sensing it.

Buffy couldn't stay silent any longer, the stranger's loss hitting her hard. He knew suffering; he knew loneliness. She felt a connection, a connection she wanted to explore.

"Buffy," she said, holding out her hand. "My name is Buffy Summers."

Derek blinked. The Slayer? The one he had almost called a few years ago to help him with Kate. Rumor had it that she had at least one close friend that was a werewolf and only killed evil, not all supernatural creatures. She was the strongest Slayer in history, but she was so small, so beautiful. Her eyes pulled him in as he closed his hand around hers.

Lorne wasn't blind to the chemistry working hard in front of him. Smiling at the two, he said, "I'll let you two get acquainted while I have a chat with Tony. Nice meeting you, Derek. Sing for me if you want some advice."

Derek had planned to do just that, but now the desire was gone. All he could think about—all he could see—was Buffy. Chuckling softly at the two of them, Lorne walked away.

"Buy you a drink?" Derek asked her.

"I have a bar at my hotel where I'm staying. It's quieter," Buffy suggested, surprising herself. Was she picking up a stranger? When he smiled at her, she realized it didn't matter. She had to be with this man. Nothing else was as important.

"Sounds good," Derek said, trying to appear casual. He didn't release her hand but keep it enfolded in his, lacing their hands together.

Lorne's club was on the edge of the strip. Buffy had walked there. "My hotel is a few blocks that way," she said.

"Okay," he said, holding out his to her. Pausing for only a moment, Buffy took it. They strolled hand in hand, not talking for an entire block. Finally, Derek said, "You're the Slayer, right?"

Buffy nodded. "For almost a decade now. I was called when I was fifteen," she said.

"Your reputation is pretty immense," he said.

"I know," she said with a shrug. "Is that a problem?"

"No," he said simply.

"You're a werewolf, right?" Buffy said.

"Yes," he said as they stopped at a streetlight. He looked down at her. "Is that a problem?"

Buffy grinned. "You're as monosyllable as another werewolf I know," she said. "No, it's not a problem. As long as you're not killing or maiming humans."

"Not recently," he said.

Buffy gave him a wary look. "You've killed humans?"

"My eyes are blue, not yellow," he said, showing her his wolf eyes.

Buffy frowned. "I don't know what that means. Oz's eyes were yellow. Every werewolf eyes I've seen were yellow. I didn't know they could be any other color," she said.

"There's more than one strain of werewolves out there. My kind's eyes reflect their nature and status. Red is for alpha. Mine used to be red, but I gave it up to save my sister," he said. "Blue means the wolf shed innocent blood."

"I see," Buffy said, pulling her hand from his. She should've known—she was only ever attracted to killers. There was something incredible wrong with her.

"I didn't kill an innocent," Derek assured her. "I've only killed in defense of my life, my family, or my friends."

"Then how did your eyes change?" she asked.

"I was a sixteen-year-old kid and trusted the wrong person. My bad choice caused the woman I loved to die," he shared, panicked at the thought of her withdrawal. "I was born a werewolf. We evolve differently than others." He silently pleaded with her. _Don't walk away. Give me a chance._

Buffy gave him a searching look, sensing he was telling her the truth. She reached for his hand again, deciding to take a risk. Was this the door Lorne was talking about? If it was, she wasn't about to walk away without giving the guy a real chance.

They walked in near silence to her hotel. Buffy sensed that he wasn't one for small talk, reminding her of both Angel and Oz. He would speak when he had something to say. When she let him in her hotel room, he glanced at her, a question in his eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Buffy nodded. "I can honestly say that I have never picked up a guy at a bar, but Lorne said I shouldn't be afraid to walk through a new door. This might be that door—I don't know, but I know that I've been alone too long," she said. "I want this." _So much,_ she thought.

"Me, too," he said as she shut the door behind him.

Buffy was nervous. Was this a mistake? Indecision filled her until his hand reached for her and pulled her close. Then his other hand cupped her cheek.

"You are so beautiful," he said, branding her with that look of his.

The smile she sent him was blinding, and he couldn't think of anything but her. Every touch was gentle, every kiss lingering. Then he was inside her, moving so slowly it was killing her—but in the best way.

His tenderness surprised Buffy. How could someone she didn't really know understand how to touch her? She let him keep the slow build going. Then she flashed him a mischievous grin, his only warning before using her superior strength to flip him over.

Derek's eyes showed his surprise for a brief moment as Buffy decided to change positions. For a time, he had forgotten who she was, lost in her beauty, the taste of her. The power in her move, though, reminded him that she was the hunter, he the prey. His eyes stayed locked with hers as she rode him without hesitation.

Buffy gasped as his length kept moving up inside her. Then he exploded as she fell apart, biting off the scream.

Boneless, she fell on top of him, breathing heavy.

Derek wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly, their heartbeats pounding fast. Then he flipped her, giving her a sated look as he leaned over her.

"Too tired?" he asked.

Buffy reached down and took a hold of his already hardening dick. "I don't get tired," she said, a challenge in her gaze.

Derek felt freer than he'd ever felt. A playfulness built inside of him as he grinned. "We'll see about that," he said as he moved his lips slowly down her body.

Buffy got tired.

**** _**Chapter End*****_


	2. Sex and Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work interrupts Buffy's romantic weekend.

***** _Two Days Later*****_

Buffy woke up next to Derek for the second morning in a row. They hadn't left her room for two days, ordering food in. It was a sensual cocoon that she hadn't experienced since the time she and Riley were affected by that lust demon. This time, however, it was just the two of them—no supernatural influence.

Turns out that being a werewolf like Derek gave him about as much stamina as Buffy. He didn't need the normal recovering time that most guys did. They'd taken one shower together and spent time in the bathroom's large jacuzzi tub. It was such an incredible thirty-six hours. She didn't want it to end.

Buffy's phone buzzed, intruding on her reverie. She reached over to get it, not wanting to wake Derek.

Of course, he was awake the moment she awoke. It was strange how attuned he was to her in such a short time. He'd had many lovers. Kate, Jennifer, Braeden, though, couldn't hold a candle to Buffy. Her hunger was as great as his—as was her energy and stamina. Just thinking about her caused his body to harden. He smiled, liking the lightness that filled him. He couldn't remember ever feeling like this.

He half-listened to Buffy's conversation. When she hung up, she sat up. "Damn," she muttered.

"You have to go," he stated, sitting up.

"Unfortunately," she said, leaning her body against his. "My friends are insisting that I get back to work. It seems that there's some new killing group popping up in places across the country. We're not sure if it's human gangs or demons yet. It seems, though, that young people under twenty-five seem to be the targets for the most part."

"Are you going to be in town much longer?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she said with a regretful look.

He nodded. "Do you have time for breakfast?"

"Yes," she said. "How about I hop in the shower while you order us some food?"

"I can do that," he said, flashing her a smile. He reached over for the hotel phone as she got up. After he placed his order, he got up out of the bed and considered his options. Did he dress? Or join her in the shower? Grinning, he headed to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Buffy was giggling as he pulled on a shirt. Derek had ungracefully slipped on soap after he'd climaxed inside of her. Of course, she pointed out that there wasn't any soap on the floor.

"Just admit it," she said with a mischievous grin, "I made you so weak that your legs gave out!"

"I am never admitting that," he said with a grimace.

The doorbell rang. "Food is ready," she said. She started to run to the door when he grabbed her and pulled her close.

"There's time for this," he said. Then he bent down and kissed her. The doorbell rang again.

When he pulled away, Buffy stared up blankly at him. "I'll get the door," he said, smiling at her dazed expression.

Buffy was internally cursing circumstances pulling her away from her sex god.

They sat down and had breakfast. Buffy found him easy to talk to. Since he was in the know, she didn't have to hide her life from him.

"What are your plans?" Buffy asked him.

"I don't know. I'm going to go visit my sister in Brazil—she's going to boarding school there. Outside of that, I don't know for sure," he said.

"You don't need to work?" Buffy asked.

He shook his head. "My family had a lot of money and insurance. There's only three of us left to split it. I'm not as extravagant as my Uncle Peter, so it should last for years," he said.

"That's good," she said. She grabbed her purse and dug through it. "Here's my card. It's got my number on it. I haven't seen you look at your phone. Do you have one?"

"I did. Then it was destroyed, and I haven't gotten around to replacing it," he said with a shrug.

"Well, if you get a new one, call me, so I can have your number," Buffy said. Then she added quickly, "If you want to, I mean. If not, it's okay." She looked away, feeling like an idiot.

"Of course, I want to," he assured her. "I will call you."

Relief filled Buffy. She was acting like a schoolgirl, but she couldn't help it. The connection between them was so strong. She'd been single a long time—four years to be exact. Of course, she'd been with Spike, but he wasn't really a love—he was a guy she fucked. Ashamed of their relationship, she never let it blossom into more. Then he attacked her, destroying her trust. When he'd earned his soul, they never had enough time together. Then he was dead. Although Andrew had told him the Powers brought Spike back, he had yet to call her. At first, she'd been pissed, then hurt. Now, she got it. Their time together was over. They didn't really fit. Could she fit with Derek? She knew she did in bed, but outside of that she would need time with him to tell.

"Good," she said, smiling.

Derek kissed her one final time. "I had a great time," he said, meaning it.

"Me, too," she said. She hugged him tight. When he didn't protest her strength but hugged her back, she smiled against his chest. He fit somehow when so many other guys had almost.

Hours later, she was deep in the middle of things at the slayer house, all thoughts of her new lover gone as Xander showed her pictures of dead kids.

"This is a bullet hole, Xander," she said. "This is a human murder. Not our jurisdiction. We're not the police."

"There's rumors all over the place, Buffy. Something else is going on," Xander insisted.

The door opened and a panicked Willow ran into the road, out of breath. "Buffy! They killed Oz's wife and tried to murder his baby!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Buffy asked stunned.

"When did Oz get a wife?" Xander asked in surprise. "Or a baby?"

"Oz is on his way to us. He was in Nepal. Hunters attacked his pack. Everyone is dead but him and his little boy!" Willow said, tears now streaming down her face.

"Werewolf hunters?" Buffy asked in alarm.

"He said-he said that werewolves were under attack. Hunters were organized like never before. They're slaughtering children or teens now, Buffy!" Willow shared.

Xander exchanged a look with Buffy. Those photos of dead kids were glaring up at them.

"What if those kids were werewolves, Xander?" Buffy suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing," he acknowledged.

Willow's eyes widened as a new look of horror came over her. She glanced down at the photos. "They're slaughtering _all_ werewolves? Even innocent kids?" Willow asked with a gasp.

"We need to get Oz and his baby here. We'll protect them," Buffy said. She looked at Xander. "Contact all the slayer houses. Put the word out. Any werewolf hunter found killing kids, we take them out," she said coldly.

"They're human, Buffy," Xander said in disapproval.

"They're killing innocents, Xander. They've crossed into our world. It's up to us to put a stop it by any means necessary," Buffy said grimly. "We'll try talking first. Then we'll slap them around some. If they don't get the message, we'll do whatever it takes. That's my final word on it." The past few years had changed her. She was a general with an army. The hard decisions were hers to make. She didn't hesitate anymore to make them. She picked up the photo of the dead teens. "What kind of world are we protecting that people think this is okay? That this is for the greater good?"

"It takes all kinds," Xander said in disgust.

"Did you know Oz was married, Will?" Buffy asked her.

She nodded, wiping her face. "He called me a year ago. Shortly after Sunnydale. He wanted to make sure we were all okay. Then he told me that he'd met someone in his travels. She wasn't me, but he loved her," Willow shared. "I didn't say anything because there was so much going on. I didn't know about the baby. He said they named the baby Daniel William Osborne. They call him Will."

Both Xander and Buffy were surprised. "He named his baby after you?" Xander asked. "His wife didn't care?"

"I didn't ask, Xander," Willow said, giving him a cross look. "He's heartbroken, and it wasn't the time to ask. For all we know, her dad could've been named William."

"Well, we know he wouldn't have named his baby after Spike!" Xander said, grinning at the idea of William the Bloody getting passed on.

Willow grimaced at the thought but said nothing; she was too upset.

"I'm going to call Giles and tell him what's going on," Buffy said.

"I'll call Robin," Xander offered. He hugged Willow. "We'll put a stop to this, Will. This group of hunters is going to learn a very painful lesson."

Buffy looked determined as she left to call Giles. She thought of Derek and worried. Was he in danger, too? Unless he called her, though, she had no way to get in touch with him. She put thoughts of Derek out of her mind. There wasn't time for distractions. Derek Hale was a very dreamy distraction. But there were others who needed her attention—Oz and his baby needed her to figure out who was doing this. No hunter team was organized without a leader.

Buffy would find him and take the killer out.

***** _Chapter End*****_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really HATED the last half season of Teen Wolf, and Monroe, a high school counselor, arming teens to kill other teens. It was morally repulsive. I figure they'll restart the series focused around her. Although I have no plans to watch it again, it is a perfect reason to blend the two worlds. I hope you like this and want to read more. Reviews are so wonderful. Thanks!


	3. Gathering Forces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oz returns to his Scoobies!

_********Vegas********_

Buffy couldn't believe so many things had occurred in the past forty-eight hours. Oz had arrived with his little boy. To say he was devastated was an understatement. Buffy had experienced her share of loss, and she recognized the look in Oz's eyes all too well. It was how Buffy had looked when she had been raised from the dead. The horror and aching sense of loss was tangible when they looked at Oz. Willow was trying to be strong for him. As soon as he had arrived, she had embraced him and his baby.

Oz had said only one word: "Will." Then he'd clung to Willow, his baby in a car carrier. It was like Willow's presence allowed him to breakdown, and he sobbed in her arms.

Dawn, Xander, and Buffy had surrounded the baby. He looked up at them, flashing big blue eyes and a smile. It was instant love.

"Oh, Buffy, he has red hair!" Dawn gushed.

"Look at those little hands!" Xander said in awe.

All Buffy could think was: _I want one_. Never had she felt a desire to reproduce until looking down at Oz's offspring. Knowing that a classmate of hers was a father stirred something inside of her. Images of Derek flashed in her mind. _I don't even have his number. He's on his way to another country, and I may never see him again._ The thoughts swam in her head even as she reached down to unbuckle the baby and pull him into her arms.

Twenty-four hours later, Oz finally emerged from Willow's room. His sorrow was still tangible, but Buffy detected a lessening when he greeted her. She was feeding the baby. Willow had taken care of Oz while they had taken care of the baby. Buffy had to fight off more than one slayer, who were as fascinated at the sight of a baby as she was.

"How is he?" Oz asked, his throat scratchy. He couldn't believe how shattered his world was. It was just a few days ago that he had been happy with his wife and life in Nepal. Then it had been destroyed. All he could think about was getting to Willow and his friends. Although they hadn't been around each other in years, he had known without a doubt that he and his baby would find a home again with them. When he walked into the room, it was like he had never left. There she was, his Willow, with Xander, Buffy, and Dawn. Of course, he saw in a moment that there were changes. Xander had only one eye, and Dawn was all grown up. Yet the sense of family was as strong as it had always been. They were his first pack—they still were his. He didn't need to worry about his baby anymore.

While he'd mourned with Willow, he didn't worry about William. He knew that his boy would be cared for. Looking at Buffy holding him, it was clear that he was more than fine. William kicked his legs as he recognized his dad. Buffy reluctantly handed him over. "He's so perfect, Oz. I've never spent time around a baby except Dawn when she was a baby, but that was so long ago. I think he might be the most perfect baby on Earth."

Oz gave her a slight smile as he kissed his baby. "His mother was perfect, and now she's gone," Oz said.

"I'm so sorry, Oz," Buffy said.

"Willow tells me that this is happening all over? That wolves are being slaughtered?" Oz asked.

Buffy nodded. "That's what we're finding out. I've got teams chasing down leads all over the world—whereever there's been reports of killings. We'll find out who's doing this and stop them. I promise," she assured him.

Oz's eyes flashed red. "Thank you," he said.

"Your eyes? They're red. You're an Alpha?" Buffy asked in surprise.

Oz looked surprised that she knew anything about his kind. "How do you know that?" he asked. He was fascinated to see Buffy blush.

"Well, uh, I met one the other day," she said. "I mean, I met a werewolf at this club. Derek. He told me about the eye thing. His were blue, and he explained the colors to me. His were red once, but he gave up his power to save his sister."

"If his were blue, you know that means he killed an innocent," Oz said.

Buffy nodded. "Yea, he told me. His girlfriend took the bite, and it was killing her. Derek said he couldn't handle her suffering, so he ended her pain. His life hadn't been easy," she said. She and Derek had talked in between bouts of lovemaking. A pang of longing filled her as she thought of him. She missed him so much already.

"Most wolves don't have it easy," Oz said.

Buffy didn't think she and Oz had ever had such a long conversation before. "This is nice," she said. "Having you here. Talking to you again. We've missed you."

"I missed you guys," he shared.

Buffy smiled. "I hope you know that you can stay with us as long as you need. Forever even," she said.

A real smile broke out on Oz's face. "Thanks," he said, knowing he made the right choice coming there.

Buffy wondered something. "Derek told me that wolves became alphas by killing another Alpha or if their alpha dies," she shared. "His uncle became alpha when his sister died, and then he killed his uncle when he kept murdering people in his hometown."

"There's another way to become an alpha," Oz said.

Buffy looked at him in awe. "You're a true alpha? Derek said he knew one—the only one," she said.

"Not the only one," Oz said, a note of pride in his voice. "It happened when I finally mastered my wolf. My wife's father was alpha of his pack. I became a member of their pack, so when he was killed, I got his power too. He was a different kind of wolf than I was. So now I'm not sure exactly what I am. I feel different, though. I'll know on the full moon."

"I don't think I've ever heard you speak so much," Buffy said with a grin.

"It's good to be home," Oz said simply.

Buffy knew what he meant and walked over to hug him.

Home was where your family was.

********* _Brazil*******_

Derek saw his sister, and somehow ended up telling her about Buffy. She insisted he get a phone and call Buffy. He pulled out the card she had given him, feeling nervous. It was an odd feeling—one he couldn't remember feeling since he was a young teenager. Finally, he dialed the number.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Buffy?"

There was a pause. "Derek? Is that you?"

"It's me," he said.

"Thank God! I was so worried. My friend Oz—the werewolf in Nepal I told you about—had his entire pack, including his wife slaughtered. He barely escaped with his baby—his _baby_ , Derek!" she exclaimed. "Something or someone is going around killing werewolves."

Derek's hand tightened around the phone. "I'm okay. I'm in Brazil. I'm going to investigate some rumors in a nearby town," he said.

"Is this a number I can reach you at?" she asked.

"It is," he said.

"We're getting reports of worldwide slaughter. They're killing wolves wherever they are. It doesn't matter how young they are either. They're organized and brutal," she said.

"Hunters," he said.

"My girls are going to pin them down sooner or later," she said.

"Hunters are human, Buffy," he reminded her.

"Humans with souls don't orphan babies, Derek," she said grimly. "These people are monsters, and we are the thing that monsters fear. These hunters are going to learn what a slayer is really soon."

Derek smiled. His sister Cora blinked in surprise. She hadn't seen that particular smile on her brother's face in a long time.

"Be careful," Derek said.

"I'm always careful," she said. "But no one hurts my friends. Oz is devastated. His son isn't even a year old, Derek. It's not right."

"No, it's not," Derek said, feeling for the guy. He knew what it was like to lose a pack.

"You need to be careful yourself. I'm not alone—you are," she said.

"I'll be okay," he said.

"You better or I'll kick your ass," she threatened.

Derek laughed. The idea of his tiny lover beating him was humorous, but he'd heard enough rumors about the original slayer to know she was formidable. "I'll keep that in mind," he said.

There was a pause. Then in a low voice, Buffy said, "I miss you."

Derek was caught off guard at her confession. "Me, too," he replied.

"When are you coming back to the States?" Buffy asked.

"In another day or so. I'm going to check out the rumors here," he said. "I'm going to Cabeceiras _._ "

"Call me when you find out something," she said.

"I will," he assured her. He disconnected. His sister was grinning—no surprise.

"You've been boning a slayer? Seriously? Do you have no sense of preservation, big brother?" Cora asked.

"Buffy doesn't kill werewolves," he said. "You heard her. She's pissed. One of her oldest friends is a werewolf—the Oz guy."

"What did she mean about her girls?" Cora asked. "I thought there was only one slayer at a time?"

"That's how it was. Then Buffy changed the rules," he said. "Her best friend, Willow, is a very powerful witch and turned all the potential slayers into slayers, so she doesn't have to fight alone anymore."

"That's impressive," Cora said. "Sounds like a good friend to have. Don't screw it up."

Derek realized that he didn't want to. He wanted more mornings, more days with Buffy. He'd go check out the rumor and then he'd go back to her.

***** _A Day Later*****_

Derek was grim as he drove north in his newly acquired Camaro. The senseless slaughter of wolves he had witnessed enraged him. He knew that he had to get to Beacon Hills, to Scott. But first he had to track down Stiles. Although he had been gone a long time, Stiles still emailed him a few times a month, so he always knew what was going on with his pack. It had been hard to stay away during the Ghost Riders attack on Beacon Hills. Stiles stopped emailing him, so he knew something was wrong. However, Scott never reached out, so he figured things were under control. Scott was a good Alpha, but he didn't always have enough confidence in himself. Derek wanted him to lead without any help, to grow as a leader.

Now, though, their way of life was being destroyed by the same family that had destroyed his. Argent was the one name he'd gotten from his investigation at the slaughter he'd found in Cabeceiras _._

He pulled out his cell to call Buffy.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey, Buffy. It's me."

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I am."

"I'm glad. Are you coming back?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm driving to the airport now," he said. He found a company to deliver his car to Beacon Hills. Driving would take too long.

"Where will you be heading?" she asked.

"I've got to pick up a friend in D. C. Then I'll be heading home. The leader of this group is in Beacon Hills. That's where you should go. Look up the name Argent. The head of the family is behind all this. His son Chris, though, is an ally. His sister, Kate, is the hunter that slaughtered my family," Derek shared.

"Seriously? The bitch is still alive?" Buffy asked.

"She's got nine lives," Derek said. "But it's her dad, Gerard, that is the true maniac. He's strategic and patient. The most deadly kind of hunter."

"I'll look into the family and meet you in Beacon Hills," she said. "Be safe."

"I will. You, too," Derek said. He hung up. Knowing that he had Buffy as an ace in his hole made it so much better.

Back in Vegas, Buffy went to her friends who were assembled in the dining room. "I have a name. Gerard. That's the hunter family that is slaughtering wolves," she shared. "Will, find out everything you can. Then we need to get ready to head to Beacon Hills."

"Where's that?" Xander asked.

"California," Buffy said. "Looks like we're heading back home."

***** _Stiles*****_

Stiles wasn't sure how a training op became so FUBAR, but there he was in all his wolfy glory, pulling Stiles out of the fray when shrapnel hit his leg. As they cleared the building, he looked at Derek Hale, who he'd not seen in a year and said, "You know if I wasn't in love with a redheaded goddess, this rescue-me moment might turn my head."

Derek smirked and replied, "If I was into guys, no redheaded banshee would be a problem."

Stiles laughed, appreciating how bonds forged in battle could never be severed. "It's good to see you. You know the F.B.I. thinks you're a serial killer," he said as Derek set him down.

"Yea, we'll clear that up, and then we have to go," he said.

"Scott needs us?" Stiles guessed.

Derek nodded. "Yes, he does," he said. "And I've made a new friend who will help."

Stiles blinked at Derek in surprise. "You made a friend? Seriously?" he asked. He looked around for a hidden camera. "I'm being pranked, right?"

Derek growled at him. "Why did I come here again?" he asked aloud.

"'Cause you love me, and you missed me!" Stiles declared with a smug smile.

Derek rolled his eyes and didn't reply. Stiles could annoy a saint—some things never changed.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_Like it? Leave me a kudos!_


	4. The Wolves of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter was taken from the final episode of Teen Wolf. I figured it was fitting since I am writing about some of the events in that episode. Most of the dialogue is not taken from the episode, but it's the general idea. I am not relaying ALL the events of the final episode. The Scoobies mostly miss out on the action.
> 
> Assume that Derek and Buffy have been talking a bit on the phone since his last call.

_ ******Beacon Hills****** _

Tamora and the hunters moved in on Scott's Pack from all sides. Peter, Malia, Lydia, and Scott took cover behind concrete columns and steel barrels. Scott pushed down the panic, ignored the fear building. His pack needed him to be strong. He clenched his fists, ready to attack.

One hunter was in position for a clear shot directly at Scott, but he was mowed down by Stiles' Jeep that suddenly appeared.

Scott felt relief surge through him as he saw Stiles and Derek join the fight. Their sudden appearance filled him with joy. Derek didn't hesitate as he leaped into the air, flashing eyes and fangs. He attacked the hunters without mercy, disarming and taking down several hunters. Malia and Peter joined the fray and remove enough of the hunter's numbers that the armed men and women retreated to their vehicles and flee.

Stiles didn't do what he should've done. Instead of kissing Lydia, he found himself complaining. "Why didn't you call me and tell me what was going on?"

Lydia rolled her eyes—so predictable. "We had really good reasons," she said without apology. The stupid head couldn't get that they were trying to protect him. He had a chance to escape all this. As a banshee, Lydia would never have such a luxury.

Scott bent over Deucalion who appeared to be dying from the several bullets he took at the beginning of the hunter's attack. "Scott," he choked out.

"I'm here," Scott said as he grabbed his hand to heal him or relieve his pain.

"Gerard fears you because he knows he can't beat you," he said. He gave one final gasped and stopped moving.

Scott felt bad that his own enemy-turned-ally wasn't pulling through like he always did. However, he straightened and locked eyes with Derek. Then Scott stepped forward to hug Derek tightly. "I'm so glad to see you," Scott told him. He pulled back, smiling warmly at his friend, mentor, and pack brother.

"So what did we miss? I wasn't gone that long!" Stiles complained.

Scott filled the two arrivals in on the insanity that they'd been through the past two weeks. "The conflict with the hunters is now an all-out war," he told them.

Peter looked at his nephew and asked, "Why did you come back now?"

Derek explained, "Packs were being killed in Brazil. I saw a message written in blood on the wall, letting me know I was needed back in Beacon Hills."

"So did you come back for Beacon Hills?" Scott asked. Did it really matter? But a part of him was hurt that Derek had abandoned him for so long. When the Ghost Riders were in town, he really could've used Derek's aid. He was happy to hear Derek's reply.

Derek shook his head. "No, I came back for you," he assured him. He left so that Scott could rise into his alpha role. Now he felt the ties that bound all of them, stronger than ever.

He was home.

_ *****Sheriff's Station***** _

Willow didn't want to leave Oz, but Buffy was gathering the slayers that she wanted in Beacon Hills. She wanted Willow to go ahead to scout out the situation. Xander was with her. What they discovered going on in the city was upsetting.

"This town has to be on a hellmouth. There has been too much supernatural activity," Willow said as she scrolled through her laptop. Xander was parked in the parking lot of the Sheriff's station.

"And from what we've determined Sheriff Noah Stilinski is square in the middle of it. He has to know about the supernatural and covers up things," Xander said. He looked disgusted. "Just like Sunnydale. Stupid cops who do nothing."

"Well, I don't think that's the case. His son Stiles is best friends with the true alpha, Scott McCall Buffy said," Willow shared. "He has to be _helping_ them."

"So who are the players?" Xander asked.

"The Sheriff's deputy is a hellhound, not a hybrid dog like the one Andrew's brother trained to attack prom," Willow said.

"What?" Xander asked in surprise.

"He's the real deal. A man of fire who is drawn to death," Willow said.

"Is he evil?" Xander wondered.

"I think Scott considers him a member of his pack," Willow said.

"Wow!" Xander said. "Is it wrong that I'm excited to meet a new supernatural creature?"

"Well, you're about to be really excited," Willow said, smiling. "Lydia Martin, Scott's classmate and certified genius, is a banshee." She turned around her laptop so Xander could see a picture of her.

Xander whistled. "I do like the redheads," he said, winking at Willow who laughed.

"She is very cute, but I think she's involved with Stiles," Willow said. "Or maybe Scott. Those are the only two men she's ever photographed with."

"What exactly is a banshee?" Xander asked.

"A harbinger of death," Willow answered. "She is like a slayer in some ways. She gets visions of the bad things that are coming."

"Does she have a super power like a canary cry?" Xander asked.

"She's not the Black Canary, Xan," Willow said, giving him a fond smile. "But she probably does have a piercing cry that alerts her friends when bad things are coming."

"Who else they got?"

"They have a were-coyote," Willow said, showing him a picture of an attractive, unsmiling brunette with compelling caramel-colored eyes. "Malia Tate."

"She looks intense," he said.

"She's actually Derek's cousin," Willow said.

"She's a Hale?"

"Buffy said Derek told her that she was raised by the Tates until she was ten or so. When her crazy coyote mother killed her adopted mom and sister, she went in her coyote form for years. She's pretty wild. Stiles tamed her and dated her for a while. She's Peter Hale's daughter," Willow said.

"He's the psycho uncle who came back from the dead somehow?" Xander asked.

"Yep. Scott won't let anyone kill Peter, and they sometimes let him help them," Willow said.

"I guess we'll fit right in with this group since they forgive a few murders between friends," Xander said with a snicker. Then he flashed Willow a guilty look. "Sorry."

Willow's phone rang, interrupting them. "What's up, Buffy?" She listened. "Okay, we'll head to the hospital."

"Buffy says that she's in town. There's a lot of activity going on at the hospital. She is sending a few slayers there, but she says Derek and the rest are having the big showdown at the high school," Willow shared.

"Figures," Xander scoffed. "High schools are always the vortex of evil."

_ *****The Hospital***** _

Invisible, Mason and Corey managed to take out two hunters with a partially filled bedpan. Mason flashed Corey a proud smile. Then Corey grabbed his hand again, and they went invisible once more.

Down the hall, Lydia, Stiles, and Jackson found Ethan. Jackson hugged his lover, but Ethan eyed him curiously. "How did you escape before me?" he asked.

Jackson flashed an arrogant smile. "You know me. I talked my way out," he said.

Ethan and Stiles both looked at him in disbelief. Jackson flashed them a sheepish grin and admitted, "Fine. I used my tail."

"Really?" Lydia asked, fascinated.

Stiles shuddered in disgust.

"That thing is so gross," Ethan said.

"You took the words out of my mouth!" Stiles exclaimed with a grin.

"We need to get out of here. Hunters are everywhere," Lydia said. The boys nodded and followed her out.

In the elevator, Liam and Theo glance at one another, agreeing to fight the hunters together. The doors opened to gunfire, but the werewolf and the chimera managed to dodge the weapons. Then they moved forward and attacked the nearest gun wielder, taking out several hunters. While it appeared they got them all, one man was still able to kneel and aim at the pair. Melissa McCall stepped around the corner with her taser stick and incapacitated him. Sheriff Noah Stilinski then ran up, grabbed one of the discarded guns and rammed it into the head of another hunter who was trying to fire.

"Nice save," he said to Melissa.

Noah then saw Gabe at the end of the hall and shouted a warning just before the young hunter opened fire. However, a woman stepped out of the elevator and held up her hand. The bullets seemed to hit an invisible barrier.

More hunters arrived, and the woman somehow pulled their guns out of their hands with an invisible rope. When the hunters tried to run, she froze them in place.

A man with an eyepatch stepped in front of Willow and waved. "Hey, Sheriff. We're friends of Derek Hale. Or rather friends of a friend of his. We're here to help," Xander said.

Noah stepped forward and held out his hand to shake the man's hand. "I don't know how she did that, and frankly, I don't care. We appreciate the assist. A hospital is no place for a gun battle," he said.

"Or the best place for one," Xander said with a smirk.

"My son is going to like you," Noah said, shaking his head. "Noah Stilinski."

"Xander Harris. This is Willow Rosenburg—she's a witch in case you didn't figure it out," Xander said.

"I don't know if I have enough handcuffs for all these guys," Noah said.

"If you like, I can transport them to your jail," Willow said.

"I'd normally say no, but I need to go rescue my deputy from the Eichen House," Noah said.

"Deputy Parrish, right?" Willow asked.

Noah looked surprised but nodded. "Yes. He's.."

"No need to explain. Derek filled us in on all of you," Willow said. She glanced at Liam and Theo, giving them a reassuring smile.

Several attractive young girls came out of a stairway. "Shannon, is everyone okay?" Xander asked.

"Are these girls with you?" Noah asked in concern.

"Yes. They're stronger than they look," Xander said.

"We're fine. Some totally lame kids with guns. They dropped them when we knocked out one of them," she said with a snort.

"All these guys Willow's got immobilized need to be zip tied and taken to the police station. The Sheriff is low on manpower," Xander told the girls. No need in Willow showing off any more than she already had.

"My deputies have recently turned on me. They might give you some trouble," Noah said, frowning as he reconsidered this. "I think they even locked up an F.B.I. friend of ours."

"Don't worry. The girls can handle them," Xander said. "I'll go with them and rescue the agent."

"I'll go with the Sheriff here to help rescue his deputy," Willow said.

"We need to get to the school to help Scott," Liam said.

"Be careful," Noah said. The boys turned to leave as Noah led his new witch friend to his car.

_ *****Back at the High School***** _

Buffy ran into the school with a team of six slayers at her back. Horrified, she stopped. There were people in the hall that seem turned to stone or something.

"Here's another," Angela said.

Buffy moved her eyes to the left and gasped. "That looks like Derek!" she exclaimed. Her eyes filled with tears. "Can you hear me, Derek? We'll fix you." She pulled out her phone to send a text to Willow.

"Behind you, Buffy," Jinka yelled.

Buffy turned to see a group of people with guns. Hunters. She narrowed her eyes and moved to confront them. "So now you just gun down innocent people?" she yelled.

"We kill monsters. Are you a monster?" the guy holding the gun asked.

"I kill monsters, too, but not monsters that are human twenty-seven days a month," Buffy said. "Who's your leader?"

Jinka, tired of seeing guns pointed at them, threw a knife at the hand of the one closest. Her sister slayers followed suit. Buffy bent down and picked up the closest gun. She bent the barrel. "I'm the thing that monsters fear. Tell your leader that we're coming for all of you. Stop the slaughter of wolves or you'll face my slayers," she told the guy.

The hunters took off. Buffy turned back to Derek. Suddenly, a piece of the gray stuff covering him broke off. The slayers watched as both men were returned to normal.

"Derek!" Buffy exclaimed, moving to hug him.

It took him a moment to respond to her embrace, but soon he was hugging her tightly, glad to see her. "You made it," he said, smiling down at her.

"I think we missed out on most of the fun," she said. Then she kissed him.

"That was fun," he murmured.

Buffy blushed.

"Scott!" Derek said. "We have to go find Scott."

They ran to the library—Derek knew Scott's heartbeat. He saw Stiles and Lydia bending over a hurt Scott, and he moved quickly to join them, Buffy at his heels.

Stiles eyed the blonde with interest but said nothing. "Scott? Are you healing?" he asked.

"I can't see," Scott asked.

"You gauged out your own eyes?" Buffy asked in awe and horror.

"He had to," Derek said grimly.

Malia ran into the room. "Scott?" she asked worriedly.

"His eyes haven't healed," Stiles said. He looked at Derek. "Why aren't they healing? They have to heal!"

Derek reached over and put his hand on Stiles' arm. "They will. Give him a few minutes," Derek said. He touched Scott's shoulder. "You gotta shift, Scott."

Scott nodded and shifted, a roar rattling the room as his red eyes glow, sending relief through the group assembled around him.

Malia and Stiles hugged him.

"Who's the girl?" Lydia asked.

"She's with me," Derek said, reaching for her hand. "Her name is Buffy Summers. She's the slayer."

"Well, one of the anyway," Buffy said, flashing them a smile. She gestured to the girls standing guard in the doorway.

"Wait," Stiles said, looking surprised. "You're telling me that slayers are real? They're not a myth?"

"If you mean vampire slayers, I am very real," Buffy said. "There used to be just me, but I have a really powerful witch friend. Now there are hundreds." She pointed at the slayers who didn't join them but waved. One or two even smiled.

"So you slay vampires, not werewolves?" Scott asked warily. He didn't like being outnumbered. Those girls there plus Buffy were more than he had. Liam and Theo pushed their way into the room, the Slayers stepping aside to let them pass. Relief filled him. They were okay—his pack had made it.

"Of course, she doesn't slay werewolves!" Derek said in annoyance. "Why would I bring another hunter around?"

"I slay all kinds of evil things. I'd kill a werewolf only if it was really evil," Buffy said. "I never have, though."

"She's here with a bunch of her people to help us with the hunters," Derek said.

"You know about them? Aren't they, like, on your team?" Lydia asked suspiciously.

"They killed my friend's wife, leaving his baby without a mother, so, no, they are _not_ on my team," Buffy said coldly. "I have teams all over the world prepared to take on these hunters. No one kills innocents if I can help it."

Stiles saw the look Derek gave the woman, and his eyes widened. This was no passing ship. This woman meant something to Derek. Stiles was more impressed with that fact than the fact that the woman was a mythical superwoman. He grinned, holding out his hand to her. "Well, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, welcome to Beacon Hills," he said. "Glad to have you on our team."

Buffy smiled and shook his hand. Then Scott held his out. "We appreciate any help you can give us," he said, shaking her hand. He smiled as he felt a strong grip—surprisingly strong. He felt such relief that he'd finally defeated the Anuk-ite. However, the hunters were an ongoing threat. One he felt ill-equipped to handle.

What the hunters had done to his hometown was horrific. They had turned nearly the entire town against them. Not even his and Stiles' dads had been immune to the hatred. The poison of distrust and hatred had been sown. Would they ever recover?

Scott had a sick feeling that this was just the beginning.


	5. Building Alliances

_*****A Week Later*****_

It'd been nearly a week since they'd stopped the madness caused by the hunters and the latest supernatural threat to Beacon Hills. Since that time Scott had listened to his mother and father's lectures about prioritizing school. He'd missed the first two weeks of class, so he was going to have to enroll for the spring semester. This meant that he could go on a trip to Europe with Malia. However, it was hard for him to let go.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer seemed too good to be true. She'd offered support and resources. There were even a few places he and Malia could stay in Europe as they traveled that she had contacts at. Slayer houses she called them. Ethan and Jackson had already gone back to London with promises to coordinate with the Slayers in England. Scott was glad that they would have some support since they were so far away.

He had trouble trusting her offer, though. She seemed too good to be true. Then Oz had come to town with his son.

"Hey," Oz said. His eyes held a wealth of pain and intelligence, and Scott felt an instant connection.

"This is my son," Oz said, holding up his boy. "He's a natural born wolf like Derek. His mother's family wasn't bitten like you and me."

When Oz held out his hand to Scott, Scott just knew. "You're an alpha like me," he said in awe.

Oz nodded, flashing his red eyes. "I'm an alpha without a pack. They're all dead," he said flatly.

Buffy glared at him. "You so too have a pack! You belong with the Scoobies!" she insisted.

"What's that?" Scott asked.

"It's us," Buffy said.

"We're the original Scoobies," Xander said, throwing his arm around Oz.

"As in Scooby-Doo?" Scott wondered with a grin. Surely, they didn't name themselves after a cartoon?

Willow nodded. "The Scoobies solved crime and beat the bad guy. That's sort of what we spent our high school years doing. Every year, there was some big bad we had to defeat," she explained.

"Thus, the Scoobies!" Xander said with a proud grin.

Scott laughed and shook his head. They were just an odd combination of ruthless intensity and levity. Then Derek came into the room, and Buffy lit up. It was the only way to describe it. She was an attractive woman, but when Derek was around, it was like she became even more attractive. He'd never seen any woman react to Derek this way. Stiles' sour wolf wasn't so sour anymore. The warm smile that Derek threw her way said everything. Buffy's feelings weren't one-sided because Derek was equally smitten. It amused Scott to see this side of Derek. Stiles had to go back to school, so he wasn't getting to see this. When Scott called him and told him, he wouldn't believe it.

Buffy's friends were also quick to note how she reacted to Derek's presence. They'd not seen this particular expression on her face since her early days with Angel. Xander hoped that this relationship ended much better than that one.

"Scott was just finding out that Oz is also a true alpha," Buffy told Derek.

"That's impressive," Derek said, holding out his hand to meet Oz. Buffy had mentioned her werewolf friend, but she'd not shared that detail. The look of trauma in the shorter man's eyes was one Derek recognized.

"Nice to meet you," Oz said.

"You, too," Derek said. "I'm sorry for your loss. I was a teenager when hunters set my house on fire and killed almost my entire family, so I know how you feel. I lost my mother, my brother and sister, cousins, and an aunt. There were eleven members home at the time. One of my sisters was at school with me when it happened. Peter and another sister survived the fire. My mother was our alpha."

Oz looked sick. "I don't understand how anyone can be that evil," he said.

"Some of my family weren't even werewolves. The gene doesn't always manifest," Derek explained.

"So what's the plan?" Xander asked Buffy, not wanting to think about the horror of Derek’s childhood. It took a lot to make the hellmouth childhood seem benign.

"We're going to move to Beacon Hills," Buffy announced, surprising him and Willow.

"We are?" Willow asked.

"Giles said your findings were pretty conclusive, Will. There's a hellmouth forming here. Things could get worse," Buffy said. "This is Derek's home. We're going to help him, and Scott defend it."

"You are?" Derek asked, looking down at her.

Buffy took his hand and pulled him aside. Scott and Oz, of course, could hear their conversation.

"I hope it's okay," she said. "I probably should've spoken to you when we were alone, but Giles called me this morning. He agrees that this town needs our help in a major way. Not just with the slaying side, but the healing side."

"I think it's great that you want to stay," Derek said. He was afraid to ask her. Too many times had he been disappointed in love. She was so amazing, so unlike any woman that he'd ever known. The chemistry between them was explosive.

"I want us to take time to see if this can be something between us," Buffy said, feeling shy but determined to let him know what she was feeling.

"I'd like that," Derek said. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss.

Xander and Willow exchanged grins. "It's about time Buffy met a guy I don't want to kill," Xander said.

"She had some bad luck, too?" Scott asked.

"I don't think having an ex try to kill her and all her friends and destroy the world qualifies as bad luck," Xander said. "More like a curse."

Scott laughed. "They might be soulmates because Derek had the same exact thing happen with Jennifer, our English teacher. She slaughtered a lot of people."

"What are the odds?" Xander said in bemusement. Buffy and Derek held hands as they walked back to them.

"So, Lydia's mom is the principal of the high school, right?" Buffy asked.

Scott nodded. "Yea."

"And she knows about the supernatural?" Buffy asked.

He nodded again. "She does, but she's still in denial for the most part," he said. "She even let that murderous hunter, Ms. Monroe, back into the school. She was the school counselor."

Buffy looked pissed. "She allowed the school counselor to recruit from her school and did nothing?" Her words came out in a cold tone as her rage was strong. "Where is she? I'm going to have a little chat with that woman!"

"She's dating the sheriff, and we love Lydia," Scott said, trying to head off a pissed slayer.

"I don't care," Buffy said. "She has a responsibility to not stick her head in the sand and protect her kids."

"Didn't Lydia get shot?" Derek asked. "I thought Stiles said something."

Scott winced and nodded. "Yea, the hunters shot up my house, and she was hit," he shared.

"Unbelievable! And she _still_ let the evil counselor in her school? She wasn't at least fired?" Buffy asked, fuming.

Scott realized that Buffy had a good point. Lydia's mom could've done more to protect Liam and the students. At the very least, keep the woman out of the school once her activities had become known.

"Buffy, you don't want to alienate the principal," Willow cautioned.

"What are you thinking, Buff?" Xander said. "You and Will work for the school?"

"I am a certified counselor now," Buffy said. "And Willow has teaching credentials for computers and science."

"Really?" Scott asked. Having a slayer and witch actually on campus would really relieve his mind. He wanted to go to college, but he felt guilty for leaving. If she was serious, it would help him let go.

"Yes," Buffy said. "I was a peer counselor at Sunnydale before it was destroyed. Then I finished my degree just recently. I don't have a master's, but I should have qualification to get work at the school."

"And there's a convenient opening," Xander said with a smirk.

"We also need to do something about the student body," Willow said. "These kids aren't like the ones in Sunnydale. They know the supernatural is real, and they've been programmed to be afraid."

"Yes. They turned on us is such large numbers," Scott said, grimacing. "It was upsetting. I've only ever tried to protect this town."

"We need them to see you and your pack as protectors," Buffy said.

"Like the X-Men!" Xander said, grinning. "They were the good mutants protecting people from the bad ones."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you're not related to Stiles?" he asked.

Buffy laughed. "It's actually a good analogy. One the kids can relate to," she said.

"We have to get a meeting with the principal," Willow said. She looked at Scott expectantly. "Can you arrange that?"

"I guess," Scott said. He hoped there wouldn't be an argument. Buffy still looked pissed.

"Should you get Lydia involved and let her smooth the way?" Derek suggested.

"I will talk to her," Scott said.

"How about I talk to her?" Willow suggested. "I mean, I can go with you. I only met her that one time."

"Okay," he said, glad it was her and not the slayer.

"Maybe the school needs an IT guy?" Willow wondered, looking at Oz.

"You a computer guy?" Derek asked, curious about the stoic wolf.

Oz shrugged. "I'm a guitarist and a Buddhist, but I know computers," he said.

"He's a genius—like off the charts. He just isn't overly motivated with the schooling," Willow said, flashing him a loving smile. He returned it. Being with his Willow again was soothing. She understood his pain since she'd lost Tara to senseless violence.

"School's cool, but it just wasn't my thing," he said.

Scott grinned. "Man, is Stiles going to love you," he said.

"Who is Stiles?" Oz asked.

"He's their token human—like me," Xander said.

"So he's your heart?" Buffy asked.

Scott liked that description and nodded. "Yes, but he'd say he was also the brains," Scott said. "Lydia is our genius, but Stiles is the one who comes up with all our plans. He's kind of the Leia in our group if I was Luke and Derek was Han Solo." After graduation, he finally gave in to Stiles and watched all the _Star Wars_ movie.

Willow's eyes lit up. "I totally get that!" she said.

"Yea," Oz agreed.

Derek groaned. "I'm surrounded by nerds," he said.

"Hey, I'm no nerd," Buffy said.

"But you got the analogy," he pointed out.

"Well, yes, that's 'cause I don't live under a rock, and when your best friends are nerds—you have to learn nerdy things," Buffy said. "But our friend Andrew is the king of nerds and obsessed with _Star Wars_."

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Xander declared.

Scott couldn't help but agree.

***** _The Next Day*****_

Lydia decided that inviting Buffy and Willow over to her house to meet her mother with Scott present was the best way to go. The school would be a more formal setting, and her mother was more likely to hide behind her official role. Lydia, like Scott, was forced to start college in the spring due to the events that delayed her starting classes. Stiles was upset at her delay, but he understood.

When they arrived, Lydia greeted the two women. She'd spent more time with Willow, who was like a female Stiles in so many ways. Even her rambling conversations reminded Lydia of Stiles. Lydia had trouble believing that she was a deadly witch, who could stop bullets with her magic. Buffy, though, seemed liked a harmless Barbie doll. Lydia couldn't picture the stories she heard about the slayer—it seemed too farfetched.

"Hi, Lydia. Thanks for this," Willow said.

"No problem. My mother can be difficult, so I hope it goes okay," Lydia said. "I think you guys working at the school is a great idea."

"Lydia?" her mother questioned, stepping into the room.

"Mom, these are the two women I was telling you about. Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg," Lydia said. "This is Natalie Martin, my mother."

Willow was a bit surprised to not see red hair on Lydia’s mother, but she was very attractive with the bright blue eyes, especially for a principal. "Hi, it's so nice to meet you," Willow said. "You definitely don't look like any principal we had back in Sunnydale."

Natalie laughed. "Why thanks," she said. "Won't you sit down?" She gestured to her sofa.

"Thank you," Buffy said. “It’s nice to meet you. We appreciate you allowing us to invade your home like this.”

"Lydia said it was important, so its fine,” she said. She gave Scott a frown. “Scott, why are you here?" she asked him.

"Well, I know these women and was directly involved in what was going on at the school with your former counselor," Scott said.

"I'm having a hard time understanding how the woman responsible for recruiting students to take up guns and shoot up Scott's house and even convinced the Sheriff's deputies to turn on him was allowed back in your school?" Buffy asked, not wasting time on niceties.

"Not that I have to answer to you, but no one actually bothered to tell me about her direct involvement," Natalie said, glaring at her daughter and Scott. "Not even the Sheriff told me."

"It all happened so fast," Scott defended. "I thought Lydia would've mentioned it."

"You're never receptive, Mom, when I try to talk to you about things," Lydia said pointedly. "I figured Stiles' dad would've told you."

"Well, the days of pretending the supernatural isn't real are over," Buffy said flatly. "This town has been through too much. I've confirmed that a hellmouth has formed in Beacon Hills, and we've got to put a lid on things before the dark energy from the hellmouth stirs up even more trouble."

"Hellmouth? What are you talking about?" Natalie asked.

"A hellmouth is an area of dark energy that conceals a doorway to hell, which is why we use the word hellmouth," Buffy explained.

"Hellgate would be more accurate," Willow added. "It draws dark creatures to it. The town will never be the same again."

"That's insane!" Natalie said.

"So is me being a banshee or Scott a werewolf," Lydia said. "You can't pretend anymore that this town is normal, Mom."

"You have students that thought it was okay to hunt down and kill other students," Buffy said. "They were eager to do it or pressured into it. Either way, trauma on a massive scale has occurred."

"So where do you fit in exactly? Do you even live in Beacon Hills?" Natalie asked.

"We are moving here. I have to find a big enough place for us because I brought a lot of help with us," Buffy said. "I'm a vampire slayer. I fight vampires, demons, and any other evil thing that tries to hurt people. That means I am stronger, faster, and able to fight creatures much bigger than me."

"Like Scott?" Natalie asked. It was hard to believe that such a slight figure could fight evil.

"I'm stronger than most werewolves and definitely more of a fighter," Buffy said. "I'm an expert in weaponry and have accelerated healing and agility. I also get prophetic dreams that let me know sometimes when bad things are coming."

"Like Lydia?"

"Not exactly but it's similar," she said. "I'm a certified counselor with experience working in schools and with teenagers. Hire me to be in the school. Not only can I actually help the kids, I can keep an eye on things. Make sure things never get out of hand again."

"Things haven't been that bad on campus," Natalie defended.

"Mom, Liam was cornered more than once at school. He wasn't the only one. You have no idea how bad things were," Lydia said, giving her mother a frustrated look.

"If Liam hadn't been a wolf, he might've been permanently injured in the last attack," Scott said. "The teacher just stood there and let it happen. No one tried to stop it."

Natalie looked upset but had no words of defense. "I don't want the kids involved in this kind of thing," she said.

"Sometimes, there isn't any other way. Willow and I grew up on a very active hellmouth. I was called at fifteen to fight the forces of darkness. Like Scott and Lydia, I had no choice in what happened to me," Buffy said. "I've died twice and been to both heaven and hell. At our graduation, our mayor turned into a giant snake and ate our principal. I had to arm my classmates, and we fought for our lives. Sometimes, Ms. Martin, kids can't escape their fate. All we can do is prepare them and equip them to handle whatever life throws them."

Everyone was silent a moment. Then Natalie said, "I'm not sure what to do with all that information, but I guess I can give you a job at the school. We do need a counselor."

"Willow is a certified computer and science teacher. Do you think you could use her anywhere?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I'm fully staffed, but we can always use a substitute teacher in the building. We don't have a full-time one," Natalie said.

"That's great. It'll allow Willow to have time to get settled in town. She's got a few trainees to take care of anyway," Buffy said.

"Trainees?" Natalie asked.

"Oh, well, I'm a witch. I have some students who are learning from me," Willow said.

Natalie stood up. This was too much. "Witchcraft? You want to bring witchcraft into a public school? I cannot allow that!" she insisted.

"Oh, no, I'm not saying that!" Willow exclaimed. "I would never proselyte. Total believer in Separation of Church and State!"

"Besides, Willow's not interested in spreading her religion—she's a non-practicing Jew, by the way," Buffy added. "She's all about the power. She's got more magic in her pinky that any other witch on the planet."

Natalie looked dubious. "I'm all for people believing whatever they want, but don't expect me to believe in magical powers. Banshees and werewolves are biological creatures. I'm a science teacher, and I know they're part of the evolutionary process. Magic isn't."

"Well, I'm a scientist myself," Willow said. "And it can explain a lot. But it can't explain everything." She waved her hand and turned Scott into a black puppy.

"What did you do?" Lydia asked, freaked out.

"It's just a demonstration," Willow said, petting the Scott puppy, who licked her hand.

Natalie decided she couldn't take anymore and fainted.

Luckily, she fell back into the chair she had risen from.

"Great," Buffy muttered. "Change him back before Lydia joins her mother."

"I would never faint!" Lydia said, deeply insulted.

Willow changed Scott back while Lydia revived her mother. "Sorry, Scott. A demonstration is sometimes necessary," she said.

Scott looked a little wide-eyed. "You made me a dog—an actual dog! That's insane!" he exclaimed, freaked.

"There's no harm done," Buffy said dismissively. "I was a rat once."

"Seriously?" Lydia asked.

"Well, this demon came to town and put the whammy on the parents, and my mom and Willow's tried to burn us and another girl at the stake for being witches. Amy, the other girl, was an actual witch—Willow was just a dabbler then. Amy turned herself into a rat. Willow took two years to figure out how to turn her back. Another time, her evil witch mother turned me into one," Buffy explained.

"Your life might be stranger than mine," Scott said, grinning.

Natalie blinked. Then she looked at Scott.

"I'm okay," Scott assured her.

"But I didn't imagine it? She turned you into a dog?" she asked, a note of hysteria in her voice.

"Sorry to scare you, Ms. Martin," Willow said, looking guilty. "I just thought a demonstration of my power would convince you that magic was real."

"Oh, I'm convinced," she said quickly.

"We also have a friend that is a computer expert if you need an IT person on campus," Buffy said. "Oz is a true alpha like Scott, but his wife was recently murdered by hunters along with his wife's entire family. He's got a baby to take care of."

Natalie looked horrified. "I don't understand. People are just killing whoever they want? Where are the police?" she asked.

"They hit and run, not staying in one location," Lydia explained. "It makes it harder for the police, but the FBI will pick up on it soon enough. Stiles is going to look for someone he can trust to start investigating."

"Dad is definitely," Scott said. "What happened to him at Sheriff Stilinksi's precinct really pissed him off."

"He can try the legal way, and I will try the vigilante way," Buffy said grimly. "Killing innocent humans who've harmed no one is not something we can tolerate _ever_. The students at your school have got to be made to understand that."

Natalie nodded. "Okay. Come to the school on Monday, and I'll get the paperwork started," she said.

"Great!" Willow said.

"Can you use Oz?" Buffy asked.

"On a part-time basis, sure. There's always things that need done," Natalie said. "He'll have to go to some schools besides the high school, though. Our district isn't that big."

"I'm sure that'll be fine," Willow said.

"We'll see you on Monday," Buffy said, standing and holding out her hand again to Natalie.

"See you then," Natalie said.

Lydia walked them to the door. "Well, that went better than I expected," she said.

"It did," Scott said, relieved.

"So Lydia, are you interested in doing some training with me and a few of the girls?" Buffy asked her. "I hear that your voice is a weapon that you use very little. How about I help you make it and you more?"

"Sure," Lydia said. "Scott and I can join you. Malia, too."

"We're leaving next week for Europe, so yea, we can. Liam, too. He's in charge while I'm out of town," Scott said.

Buffy shook her head. "No, he's not. I am. Derek is. A teenager still in school isn't in charge," Buffy said. "Didn't Derek used to be an alpha?"

"Is he sticking around?" Scott asked. Raised by a single mother, bossy women didn't bother him, so he was unoffended at her declaration. Liam didn't really want to be in charge anyway. "He hasn't actually told me for sure. He tends to come and go. I thought with you here, he'd leave because you'd take care of things, and he wouldn't have to worry."

Buffy frowned. "He's sticking around," she said.

"You might want to nail that down," Lydia said. "Derek isn't exactly the home and hearth type."

"Who says I am either?" Buffy said, pushing out the door to the car.

Willow thanked Lydia and said goodbye as Scott walked to his bike.

"So, you want to meet at Derek's tomorrow?" Scott asked as he grabbed his helmet.

"Sure," Willow said. "Two o'clock?"

They agreed, so they parted ways. Scott went to see Malia while Buffy dropped Willow off at the bed and breakfast they had rented out. It was a home, so vampires couldn't come in unexpectedly. It had eight open rooms, and they rented all of them. She and Willow were sharing until Oz arrived. He was taking Buffy's spot as she was staying with Derek at his loft. The owner of the bed and breakfast had been overjoyed to have a full house during the down time. Summer was over, so there wasn't much activity in town. Buffy had paid for a full month, so they would have time to find a more permanent location.

Derek flashed her that slow, sexy smile of his. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Good. We're going to start on Monday," Buffy shared, leaning up on her toes to kiss him.

Derek wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. He found the taste of her intoxicating and addictive. In no time, the passion built between him, and he was taking off her shirt.

"Daytime sex?" Buffy asked, grinning as she slipped her hands on his shirt, caressing him. The shirt was off in a second while her hands went down his pants, causing him to get even harder than he'd been.

"You set me on fire," he mumbled against her mouth.

"And there's no demon influence," Buffy happily declared.

"Huh?" he asked, momentarily distracted by her strange comment.

"Oh, once there was this sex demon of some kind that had Riley and I going at it like rabbits for hours," she shared.

"No ex talk when I'm trying to have my wicked way with you!" he declared with a glare.

"Hey, you asked," Buffy pointed out and dropped to her knees to make it up to him.

All was forgiven as he lost his ability to think when her lips closed around him.

An hour later, they came up for air, momentarily sated, lying in his bed.

"Wow," she said when she could form words again.

"Yea," he agreed, lazily running his hand over her bare back.

"I could get used to this," she said.

"Me, too," he agreed. Buffy was quickly becoming important to him, and he wasn't sure how to proceed. Normally by this point, things between him and a woman started to sour. If they didn't turn murderous, they got upset because he was so closed off. With Buffy, he didn't feel like being closed off. She understood his suffering and his burdens because she'd suffered in many ways more than he. Her burdens were greater than his own. She was the leader of a huge pack while he wasn't an alpha anymore. Of course, that was okay with him because he never liked being an alpha. He mostly sucked at it, and his entire pack was dead except for Jackson and Isaac. Now, he was second in Scott's pack even if Stiles wrongly though he was.

Buffy raised up to look at him. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"That Stiles thinks he's Scott's second in the pack, but he's not a wolf," he answered honestly.

Buffy grinned. "In bed with a naked woman and you're thinking about a man? Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking of you first, but then I started thinking of how I'm not an alpha anymore. Although that makes me less your equal, I don't miss being alpha. I wasn't very good at being pack leader," he admitted.

"How about you let me into your pack?" she asked, not really understanding how significant that would be.

"If you want a place, it's yours," he said honestly.

Buffy sat up, making no attempt to cover herself. He was momentarily distracted by her perfectly plum-sized breasts. Kate had been better endowed, and he'd hated big breasted women ever since. Buffy was her opposite in every way—thank God.

"If you can tear your eyes from my boobs, we can talk," Buffy said smugly.

"But they're so pretty," he said, leaning down to kiss them both.

Buffy pushed him a way and grabbed a pillow to shield them from his view. "Play time is over. We need to talk," Buffy said.

"Fine," he said with a dramatic sigh. Where did this playful side come from? He was never like this, but she made him feel so light.

"I just wanted to know what your plans were," Buffy told him. "Scott and Lydia weren't really sure that you'd stick around in Beacon Hills. I want to stay to help the town, but I assumed you'd be staying here because it was your home."

"I left so that Scott could come into his own without me," Derek said. "He needed to rise up and lead without my help. Now things are different. He's going to be going to school, and he has finally become the alpha I always knew he could be."

"So you're staying?" she asked.

"I'd like to," he said. "But if you need to leave to take care of other problems, I will go with you. I'm not planted here."

Buffy's heart pounded as his words sunk in. "You'd go with me?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm not sure I'd be any good without you now," he admitted, his hand raising one of hers to his lips.

"My life is insane," she warned.

"So is mine," he said with a shrug as he turned over her hand to place a kiss on her palm.

"My best friends are a witch and a one-eyed human prone to danger," she said.

"A good match for Stiles, who is a trouble magnet, and Scott," Derek said, grinning.

"I'm sorry that Stiles had to leave. I didn't get to spend much time with him," Buffy said.

"He'll be back to annoy me at Thanksgiving," Derek said, his lips trailing up her arm to her neck. Buffy dropped the pillow.

"That's good. Faith will probably show up sometime. She broke up with Robin a few months ago and is restless," Buffy shared as she arched her neck.

"Faith's the one that likes to fight?" he asked, trying to remember all the things Buffy had told him about her friends.

"Yea," Buffy said, losing her train of thought as he sucked on her sensitive neck.

"I'll introduce her to my uncle. She can beat him up," he said. "Although he might like that a bit too much."

Buffy giggled. Then she was quiet as his lips found hers once again.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_The last season of Teen Wolf made me a bit nuts with Monroe allowed back in the school after almost killing Lydia. It made no sense that Ms. Martin would not intervene. Reviews are lovely. Review and tell me your thoughts!_


	6. A Big Step

_*****Later the same Day*****_

After enjoying some leisure time with Derek, her belly started rumbling.

"Looks like someone needs to be fed," Derek said, smiling at her.

"It's close to five and lunch was several hours away," Buffy pointed out as she began gathering up her clothes.

Derek got out of bed and slipped on his own clothes. "What are you in the mood for?" he asked.

"I'm not picky," Buffy said with a shrug. "We need to buy some groceries. I'm not much of a cook, though."

"I am," Derek said.

"Really? Sexy, fabulous in bed, _and_ you can cook? I think you might just be the perfect man," Buffy said, raising up on her tippy toes and kissing him.

"Not perfect—not by a long shot," he said. "Most women are annoyed or frustrated with me by this time."

"I must have low standards," Buffy said with a smirk.

Derek laughed and drove her to the nearest grocery store. They argued good-naturedly over what products to buy. Both realized that they had never made it to this point in a relationship. Something as simple as shopping with the person they were dating had never happened. For Buffy, two of her boyfriends had been vampires and didn't eat. With Riley, they'd been too busy with the Initiative and then her mother's sickness to do simple things like shopping together.

"Derek?" a voice said.

Buffy turned and saw an attractive woman close to the age her mother would've been smiling at Derek and coming toward him.

"Hi, Mrs. McCall," Derek said, greeting the woman warmly.

Buffy recognized the name. "Are you related to Scott?" she asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes, that's my son. Do you know him?" she asked.

"This is Buffy Summers," Derek said. He looked at Buffy, hesitating only a moment before adding, "my girlfriend." Buffy gave him a beaming smile at his declaration, so he knew he made the right choice.

The woman's face showed her surprise at his words, but she held out her hand, greeting Buffy in a friendly manner. "It's so nice to meet you, Buffy. I'm Melissa," she said.

"Nice to meet you, too," Buffy said.

"I was happy when Scott told me that you came back to help him out," she said to Derek.

"I was glad I could come," he said. "Buffy helped, too. She's the one who sent her friends to the hospital."

"Your friend that could—" she stopped to see if anyone was around, "stop bullets with the wave of her hand?"

Buffy nodded. "Yep. That's Willow. She's a real witch, and we're both going to be working at the high school," Buffy shared. "Help keep a lid on things."

"Oh, you're the one Scott was referring to when he said that some big guns came to town to stick around, so he could leave without worrying?" she asked. "I thought he meant Derek."

"I am sticking around," Derek said. "Scott should go to school and finish his degree. I did."

Both women looked surprised. "Really? Scott never mentioned that," Melissa said.

"Neither did Derek," Buffy said, giving him a pointed look.

He shrugged, looking sheepish. "It never came up," he said. "But I have a bachelor's in philosophy."

"The type of degree only the really wealthy or cerebral waste time getting," Buffy said, grinning.

"I'm not cerebral," Derek said with a smirk.

"You're wealthy?" Buffy asked in surprise. "Wow, we really need to spend more time talking!"

Melissa laughed when Buffy realized what she was implying and turned red in embarrassment.

"Oh, uh, I didn't mean…well," Buffy fumbled, much to Derek's amusement.

"It's okay," Melissa assured her. "I remember what it's like to date a hot, young stud."

Now it was Derek's turn to look embarrassed while Buffy laughed.

"Didn't I hear that you were dating someone yourself?" Derek said, not letting her go unscathed. "A certain retired hunter?"

"And on that note, I will finish my shopping," Melissa said, pointedly not answering. "It was good to meet you, Buffy. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around. And thanks for coming to town to help. Are you the same as Derek and Scott?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I'm something different," she said.

"I'll have to have you and your friends over for dinner soon, and you can tell me all about it," she said before walking down the aisle to finish her shopping.

"So that's Scott's mom? She seems really great," Buffy said, watching her go.

"She is. Scott got really lucky," Derek said. "She never flinched when she found out about what he was. Never once did she look at him or me differently."

"Wish I could say that about my mother," Buffy said with a sigh. "She was amazing and wonderful in so many ways, but the first time I told her about being a slayer, she and my dad had me committed. The second time, she told me if I left the house to stop an apocalypse, not to come back."

Derek looked incredulous a moment before hugging her. "I'm sorry," he said.

"But she came around," Buffy said. "The last years of her life, she was the best. We worked it out."

"That's good," he said. They resumed their shopping. "How about we get some sandwiches and chips? Have a picnic."

"There's only about an hour left of daylight," Buffy pointed out.

"I know. It's enough time," Derek said. "I want to show you something."

They went to the deli and selected some pre-made sandwiches and paid for their purchases.

Derek drove her pass the city limits and down a dirt road.

"We're going to a lake?" Buffy asked.

"Nope," he said. He drove the car up to a very large two-story house. There were no cars in the drive, but he pulled up. "This is it."

"Whose house is this?" Buffy asked as she opened up the car door.

"Actually, it's mine," Derek said, looking more nervous than Buffy had ever seen him look.

"What do you mean? I thought the loft was yours," Buffy said.

"This is my childhood home. The hunters burned it down. I had contractors rebuilding the past year that I was gone," he explained. "It's finally done."

"Wow, Derek, it's so nice," Buffy said, looking at the house with a more critical eye. It had a nice porch and was painted a pale blue with trim. "I love the color."

"It was my mother's favorite color," Derek said. "That wasn't the original color. I wanted it to look different."

Buffy could tell that the house held a lot of painful memories for him. "We don't have to go in if it's too hard on you," she said.

"No, it's time I moved pass this. It was long ago," he said. "One day my sister Cora might want to live here, but it won't be anytime soon." He used a key to open the door.

It opened it into a large foyer. There was a closet there, and the floor was all hardwood.

"The floors are nice," she said.

"Carpet burns faster," he said. "There's carpet in the bedrooms upstairs, though."

"How many bedrooms are there?" Buffy asked as they walked into the large living room. It had a ceiling fan and a large bay window. "This is so beautiful! I don't think I've ever been in a new house before. I visited some in England that were gorgeous but very old."

"I didn't make it exactly the same," he said. "I thought it'd be easier if there were differences."

"That makes sense," Buffy said. "It was hard for me when I came back, and Willow and Tara had moved into my mother's room. It looked so different. At the same time, it made things easier for me to be in a house without my mother."

Derek nodded, enjoying learning about her. There was an intimacy between them that he'd never experienced with another woman before. "There's six bedrooms. The large master bedroom is downstairs that way." He pointed down a hall on the other side of the living room. "I decided to go that way instead of having a separate den or study. There's a full bath in there. Another bath in the second room on the other side of the kitchen." She followed him into the large kitchen.

"This is incredible!" she gushed, her eyes wide. It had all black stainless-steel appliances with black marble countertop. The cabinets were a dark wood. "This is a cook's kitchen."

He looked shy. "I like to cook, and so did my mother," he admitted. "I don't know if I'll ever live here, but it was important that it have the kitchen like the old one. It's really the only thing that's almost exactly the same."

Buffy put their bag of sandwiches on the counter top. "Do you want to eat? We're about to lose the sunlight," she said.

"I need to get the power on," he said. He took the sandwich that she offered and the drink.

"How about we come again on Monday and get the power on? See the second floor?" Buffy suggested. "We have to get the groceries back to your other house soon."

He nodded. "I know. I just wanted to show you this," Derek said. "I thought maybe it'd be a good place for your friends to stay."

Buffy was surprised. "Really? You want us to stay here?" she asked.

"Well, I wasn't hoping you'd continue to stay with me," he admitted.

Buffy's heart beat so loud that she knew he could tell because he grinned. "You want us to live together? Like together-together?" she asked.

"I don't see any reason why you should move out of my bed," he said with a smug look.

"Sex isn't a reason to move into together," Buffy said. She totally had to talk to Willow and Giles. Maybe even Dawn and Xander.

"Sex isn't the reason. Although it's convenient," he said, giving her a wolfish grin. "But we're getting along really well, and I think living together will let us know if this is real."

"I think it's real," Buffy said softly. "I just think my mother would say, 'Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?'"

Derek laughed. "I haven't heard that saying in a very long time!" he said. "Are you the cow in this analogy?"

Buffy returned his grin. "I guess so," she said. "You don't think it's too soon?"

He moved around the island to stand next to her, reaching for her hand. "How about this? We give it a try, and if it starts to seem too much, you can move in here with your friends," he said.

"But that will sour what we have. If we do it and it doesn't work, I don't think we'll move pass it," Buffy pointed out, feeling anxious. She liked him so much and didn't want it to be over too soon.

"Hey, if you tell me that you're sick of seeing my sour face so much, I'll be a bit hurt, but I can't imagine not wanting to be with you," he admitted. He bent his head down and kissed her.

Buffy allowed herself to get lost in his embrace for a very long moment, and then she pulled back for air. "Okay," she said softly. "I'll stay with you and tell my friends about this place. Thank you." She leaned up to give him light kiss.

Derek gave her a warm smile, relieved that she said yes. He knew it was soon, but now that he met her, he just didn't want to allow any distance between them. "We better finish our food and head out before we lose all the light," Derek said.

Buffy finished her sandwich and took a drink. "Okay. I'm done," she said.

Derek wasn't half finished with his, but he wrapped it. "I'll finish it in the car," he said. "Let's get home."

"I gotta call Will and tell her the good news," she said. "Tomorrow, we're supposed to meet up with your pack and do some training. Do you think we should just have everyone meet here?" They walked out to his car.

"Probably. This place is more private than my loft. The loft is in the center of town," he said.

"Great!" Buffy said, happy.

After she made back to his loft, she helped him put away the food. Then she and Derek went to see her friends.

Willow and Oz were in the living room of the bed and breakfast playing with the baby.

"Buffy, Will took a step!" Willow said excitedly.

"Oz named his baby after his ex-girlfriend?" Derek asked in whispered surprise. He hadn't been told the baby's name.

Oz, of course, heard his question. "His name is William, which is or was his maternal grandfather's name," Oz said. "But I don't mind thinking he is named after the sweetest and smartest witch I know."

Willow blushed at the compliment. "He's a very good baby," she said.

Buffy smiled at the picture they presented. She knew that Oz was too traumatized to be thinking of romance, but she would be very happy if the two exes found their way back to one another. If not, it was great that they could be so close even after all this time.

"I have some news," Buffy said, sitting on the sofa. Derek sat next to her as they were on the floor with the baby.

"What's up?" Willow asked.

"Derek has a place for you guys," she said. "He's got a six-bedroom house. Oz and the baby can take the master bedroom downstairs. Will, you can take the other. The four upstairs can be for Xander and the other slayers who want to be based here permanently. Maybe Dawn if she wants to leave Giles."

"What about you?" Willow asked. She glanced at Derek. "Are you not going to stay there with us?" She gave Buffy an impish smile.

Buffy's face felt warm as she looked at Derek. Then she said, "No, I'm going to stay with Derek."

"Until she gets sick of me," Derek added, grinning.

"That's great!" Willow said excitedly.

"I'm going to call Scott and have him meet us at two at Derek's house instead of the loft. The place is outside of the city and more private," Buffy said.

Willow became even more excited. "That sounds perfect! With all the noise the girls make sometimes, and the frequent spats, private is good," Willow said. Then she looked at Oz. "You know living with slayers isn't exactly peaceful."

He shrugged. "Babysitters who never get tired," he said. "I can deal. Living with a werewolf pack isn't exactly restful either."

"I remember," Derek said with a bittersweet smile. "There was normally around a dozen or so living or staying at my house growing up. That's how the hunters were able to kill so many of my family at once."

"I will most definitely be putting all kinds of wards on the house," Willow said grimly. "Nothing like that will ever happen again—not in a house we're staying in. I can do it in your loft, too."

"That'd be great," Derek acknowledged. "My Uncle Peter might appreciate it, too. Of course, he is a total ass, but he is Malia's father."

"I'll do it to everyone's house," Willow said. "We lived with Spike for a few months, so we know how to deal with the difficult."

"Huh?" Oz asked, surprised.

"I'll tell you later," Willow said.

"I think I'm going to put this little guy to bed," Oz said, standing. "Good to see you again, Derek."

"Will we see you tomorrow?" Derek asked.

"Probably not," Oz said before turning to go to his room with his son.

Derek stood, knowing Buffy would like to speak to her best friend in private. "Buffy, I'll wait for you in the car and let the two of you talk about me behind me back," he said with a wink.

"Only good things," Buffy said, blowing him a kiss as he headed for the front door.

"So moving in? That's a big step," Willow said.

"I know it's fast," Buffy said, a bit defensively.

"No, it's not," Willow said. "I mean it would be with a normal couple—one that didn't face death as much as you and Derek do. Life is too short to waste time. If you feel like he could be the one, then you owe it to yourself to find out."

Buffy felt relieved that her best friend thought that and hugged her. "Thanks, Willow. I was going to talk to you before deciding, but he kissed me senseless," she admitted.

Willow giggled. "I bet," she said with a smirk.

"So catch Xander up, okay?" Buffy said. "Where is he?"

"I think he's with the Sheriff," Willow said. "Due to all the ugly stuff that went down, the sheriff is having trouble covering shifts. He had to fire several of his deputies."

"He better. I can't believe they turned on him like that!" Buffy said.

"Yea, right? Well, Xander is answering phones for the sheriff," Willow said.

"Isn't that a waste of his talents?" Buffy asked.

"He said it was a way to get a feel for the place," Willow said. "He might decide to be a deputy part-time. He said it'd be a way to keep his pulse on the community. Give him a legitimate cover."

Buffy was surprised but nodded. "I can see how that might be a good idea. From what I've heard from Derek, Sheriff Stilinski is honorable and willing to do whatever it takes to keep people safe," Buffy said. She stood up. "Well, I better go since Derek's waiting. I'll come pick you and Xander up tomorrow around one thirty, okay? Scott and them know where Derek's place is, so they'll be able to meet us there."

"Sounds good," Willow said. "Good night."

Buffy left feeling really great about her decision. When she got into Derek's car, he was putting away his phone.

"I called Scott and told him the change of location. He said he'd tell the others," Derek said.

"Good. I told Will that we'd come by and get her and Xander tomorrow," Buffy said.

Derek nodded and drove them back to his loft without talking. When he pulled into his garage, he turned off the car and looked at her. "So you're not going to tell me?" he asked.

"Tell you what?" she asked.

"What your best friend really thinks about us moving into together?" Derek said.

Buffy smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know!"

"You're not going to tell me?" he asked, surprised.

"Maybe," she said, playing coy.

Derek leaned in close. "I bet I can make you talk," he said.

"Meaner creatures than you have tried," she replied.

He placed his lips on her neck, satisfied when a low moan came from her mouth.

"No fair!" she protested but didn't pull away.

"I told you I could make you talk," he said as his lips trailed down her throat. His lips stopped at the scar she told him was from two vampire bites. Instinctively, he sucked hard on the spot, causing her to reach out and pull him close.

"Don't stop," she ordered.

He pulled away and grinned. "Tell me what she said," Derek said.

Buffy's eyebrow went up. "You honestly think you can seduce me into doing what you want?" she asked. "I bet I can be meaner." Without preamble, she pushed her hand under his waistline and wrapped her hand around his dick, making him gasp. "What do you think?"

"Okay! I give up!" he said. "Let's go inside where we have more room to play."

He opened the car and practically ran into the house, making Buffy giggle as she followed after him.

As soon as they were inside, he pulled her closed for a hot kiss. When she broke off for breath—he seemed to need less air than she did, she said, "Will thinks me living with you is great. Life is too short to waste time."

Derek smiled in satisfaction. "I couldn't agree more, so let's stop wasting time," he said as he stripped off his clothes.

Laughing, Buffy followed him into his bedroom.

_*****Chapter End*****_

_I thought some sweet Derek/Buffy time would be nice. I hope you enjoyed it. The Teen Wolf pack will show up in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!_


	7. Testing the Waters

***** _The Next Day*****_

Buffy and Derek arrived at Derrick's family home after picking up Xander and Willow.

"So Willow says this house is going to be where we all can stay?" Xander asked.

"Yes, Derek says we can use it since he doesn't want to stay in it," Buffy said.

"Why not?" Xander asked.

"It's the house my family was killed in," Derek answered.

Xander winced. "Sorry," he said.

"It's okay. Kate Argent set the house on fire after trapping them in it," he said. "It's been completely redone."

"So no ghosts haunting it or anything?" Xander asked.

"No ghost," Derek said.

"Are we going to meet your uncle today?" Willow asked.

"If you're unlucky," Derek said.

"Is he evil?" Willow wondered.

Derek shrugged. "He was burned up in the fire, and I thought he was catatonic," he said. "But he was faking it, and killed my older sister, who became the alpha after Mom died. Then he terrorized the town, biting Scott. I killed him, and he managed to come back from the dead."

"Seriously?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Derek said. "Now, though, he's mostly helpful to the pack, especially if his daughter Malia is in danger. Scott said he helped them against the Ghost Riders."

"So he killed your sister, and you still hang around him?" Willow asked.

Derek shrugged. "He says the trauma of the fire and losing his alpha drove him insane. He claims he regrets it," he said.

"Do you believe him?" Buffy asked.

"I want to, but I can't afford to trust him completely, so I advise you not to either," Derek said. "But he is crafty and powerful. Use him if you need to."

"Good to know," Buffy said.

Derek pulled up and saw that Lydia's car was already there. Scott pulled up behind them on his motorcycle, Malia with him.

Lydia stepped onto the porch.

"How did you get inside?" Buffy asked, knowing Derek locked it.

She grinned. "I picked the lock," admitted.

"Stiles?" Derek asked.

"Who else?" she replied with a smug grin.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Xander asked. "You totally have to teach me! Spike taught Dawn, but no one has taught me. I hate not knowing something Spike knows."

"Another time," Buffy said.

"I can't believe you rebuilt this place and didn't say anything, Derek," Scott said, looking at it in awe.

"It's pretty amazing. Wait until you see the inside," Lydia said.

They were exploring the new house as Liam pulled up with Mason, Corey, and Theo.

Mason was pissed that Liam picked up Theo. "I just don't think we need to be forgetting that Theo tried to kill all of us and framed Stiles for murder, remember? He worked for the Dread Doctors," Mason reminded him.

Derek and Buffy were outside, not needing to explore the house, and heard the argument.

"Scott isn't mad at him and says we need him, so he's here," Liam said.

"Hey," Buffy said, getting their attention. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Liam said. "Mason just doesn't like Theo. I told him that he doesn't have to like him."

"No one likes me, yet here I am," Peter Hale said, stepping out from behind a tree.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up," Derek said.

"You rebuilt our home and made new friends," Peter said. "Of course, I'm going to be here."

"Peter, this is Buffy Summers," Derek introduced.

"Hello," Buffy said, looking at the man curiously. He was younger than she expected, attractive.

"So my nephew is dating the longest-lived vampire slayer," Peter said. "Impressive."

"You know who I am?" Buffy asked.

"Most supernatural creatures that know anything know who Buffy Summers is," Peter said.

"I don't," Liam said.

"As I said," Peter said with pointed look.

Scott and Malia came back outside. "Dad? I didn't know you were coming," she said.

"Just wanted to see what your new friends were up to," Peter said. "You still leaving for Europe?"

Malia nodded. "In a few days," she said. "Scott's going to go with me since he is delaying his start until the spring semester."

"That's good," he said. "I didn't like you traveling alone."

"Lydia is going with us, too" Malia added.

"Safety in numbers," Peter remarked.

"We're going to work with Buffy's overseas slayers and track the hunters in Europe while sightseeing," Scott shared.

"That's a good plan," Peter said, happy to know that they were on the offensive for once.

"This house is incredible, Derek," Lydia said, stepping off the porch. Willow and Xander were with her.

"Thanks," he said. "Buffy's friends will be staying here."

"Shouldn't you have asked me if that was okay?" Peter asked, annoyed.

"It was my mother's house," Derek said.

"It was my sister's house," Peter replied.

"My family was killed in this house," Derek said.

"So was mine, and I was left with eighty percent of my body burned," Peter said flatly.

"You murdered my sister, so you no longer get a say," Derek said grimly.

"See if Peter is allowed in the pack, there's no reason not to allow me," Theo said to Mason.

"Good point," Liam said.

Mason didn't like it, but he didn't argue.

"No one is perfect," Willow said.

"Speak for yourself," Xander said with a grin. "I am pretty perfect!"

"Okay, so most people aren't," Willow acknowledged, making everyone smile.

"It's going to take a lot of stuff to fill a house that big," Lydia said.

"I love shopping," Buffy remarked.

"Me, too!" Lydia said with a grin.

"Shopping tomorrow and school on Monday," Buffy said.

"Works for me!" Lydia said.

"Are we going to do something or talk furniture?" Malia said impatiently.

Peter grinned, amused by his daughter. "Yes, what is the point of this gathering?" he asked.

"I'm leaving for a few weeks and then I'll be gone for school," Scott said. "Buffy and her friends have been fighting evil and monsters even longer than we have. She'll be around to make sure what happened with Monroe and the hunters doesn't happen again."

"I'll be working at the school as a counselor," Buffy added.

"You know counselors at our school tend to be psychotic," Mason said.

"Yea, well, I'm about to break that mold," Buffy said with a smile. "Willow will be around, too, as a substitute teacher."

"And you might see Oz sometimes as he's going to be doing some IT for the school district," Willow added.

"Cool," Liam said. "Things were really bad the first few weeks of school. Never thought I'd be the victim of a lynch mob."

"And seeing teachers stand there and do nothing was really messed up," Mason said.

"That just pisses me off, so how about we not talk about it?" Buffy suggested. "I promise you that will not happen again. Not while I'm around."

"So we should probably go to the back of the house," Derek said.

They followed Derek to the back of the house and saw an open field. "This is great," Buffy said. "So much room."

"I've not got any landscaping done yet," Derek said.

"Why don't we start with the high school kids?" Buffy suggested. "Xander spar with Mason, so we can see what he can do."

"Oh, I don't fight," Mason said quickly. "I run and hide behind Liam."

"Or I make him invisible," Corey added.

"You can do that?" Willow asked.

Corey nodded.

"That's so cool!" Xander said. "Show me."

Corey did, and Xander cheered.

"Can you show us how you make Mason invisible?" Buffy asked.

Mason grabbed his boyfriend's hand, and Corey made disappear.

"Now that is one cool gift," Xander said. He held out his hand. "Do me! Do me!"

The teens started laughing. "You know I already have a boyfriend," Corey said with a smirk.

"That would be me," Mason said, grinning.

Everyone laughed as Xander crossed his arms. "I don't hit on children. I just wanna be invisible," he said with a pout.

"We had a girl at our school turn invisible because everyone ignored her, but she couldn't make herself visible," Willow shared.

"Your school sounds worse than ours," Liam said.

"It was on a hellmouth," Buffy said. "That's a gateway to a hell dimension, and we believe that one is starting to form here in Beacon Hills."

"Seriously? We so need to move," Mason complained.

"If you move, who will be here to keep the regular people safe?" Buffy pointed out.

"So let's see what you can do," Derek said. "Enough wasting time." He didn't know all of Scott's pack and was interested in learning more about them.

"If Mason doesn't fight and Corey just hides, we'll work on training them at a later time," Buffy said. "Everyone has to know how to fight and defend themselves."

"The hunters are the least of the problems this town will start having as the dark energy from the hellmouth builds," Willow said.

"So Theo or Liam?" Xander said. "Who's going to kick my ass first?"

The boys both grinned, liking the man instantly. "I will," Theo said.

Everyone formed a circle as the two men faced each other. "Now take it easy on me since I only have one eye," Xander said.

Theo stopped circling him and turned to Buffy. "Should he be doing this? I don't want to hurt him," he said.

"Hey," Xander said. Theo turned and Xander sucker punched him.

"Nice!" Mason cheered.

"That was kind of funny—if rude," Corey said.

"So that's how you wanna be?" Theo said, rubbing his jaw.

"Never underestimate your opponent," Xander said with a wide grin.

Theo narrowed his eyes and charged Xander, who side stepped him and then tripped him.

Theo jumped up quickly, getting angry. The one-eyed human was making him look ridiculous.

"Xander's used to fighting vampires, so he's pretty tough," Buffy said to Scott. "But he's had very little formal training."

It was apparent to Derek that Xander was really good at dodging hits. Every time Theo tried to hit him, he dodged and popped off some smart aleck remark.

"I can tell he's your friend," Derek said to Buffy.

"His quips are lame. I'm so quippier," Buffy scoffed.

"Okay, I give up," Theo announced. "He jumps around like a jumping jack. I can't hit him."

"I'm all about the evasive defense," Xander said proudly. "I survived twenty-two years on a hellmouth. Only got a broken arm or two and one gouged out eye."

Lydia groaned. "That's what happened to your eye? Someone poked it out?" she asked.

"That's what happens when mere mortals like myself don't run when their slayer best friend gets thrown around like a rag dog," Xander said.

"Xander isn't our smartest friend," Buffy said, giving him a fond look. "But he's the bravest."

Xander gave Mason and Corey a serious look. "It's good that you don't fight when you know you won't win," he said. "Keep doing that. But Mason, if you're ever away from Corey and can't go invisible, learn to be quick on your feet."

"My girls and I will teach you that," Buffy said.

"I think I'm going to join the track team this year," Mason said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Derek, how about you spar with Liam?" Scott said with a grin.

Derek shrugged. "Okay," he said. He took off his leather jacket.

Liam didn't know much about the former alpha except that Scott looked up to the man immensely. "Is it true that you can turn into a full wolf?" Liam asked as they circled each other.

"Yes," Derek said.

"Wow, that's so cool! I didn't know that was actually possible," Liam said.

Derek moved so quickly that Liam didn't have time to react, but his head swung back as Derek hit him hard in the face.

Liam's eyes glowed yellow as anger built, and he attacked Derek with claws, ripping into his shirt. Buffy was about to jump in, but Scott held up his hand.

"Derek can handle Liam," Scott said confidently.

Derek's blue eyes flashed as hit Liam hard in the face, following his right hook with a left. Then he kicked him in the stomach, knocking him several feet back.

Liam jumped up and was about to charge him when Buffy stepped in front of him. "That's enough," she said coldly. "You need to control yourself, before you get slapped around by a girl."

Malia snickered. "I'd like to see that," she said.

Scott walked up to Liam and put his hand behind his neck. "Take a deep breath," he said quietly. "Get control. You can do this."

"This is good," Xander said. "Liam needs to learn how to control his temper and his wolf ability."

"Yes, he does," Buffy said pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Liam said.

"Don't apologize," Derek said. "It's very hard for a wolf to keep control during any type of fight. That's why I never approved of Scott playing lacrosse."

"I play lacrosse," Liam said.

"Of course, you do," Derek said, rolling his eyes. Then he gave Scott a disgusted look. Although he did know Liam played, it still pissed him off. The guys were so short-sighted, taking unnecessary risks.

Scott just laughed. "What can we say, Derek? There's more supernaturals on the field than not," he said.

"Okay, it's my turn!" Malia said. "I want to slap someone around. Derek? Up for another round?"

Peter laughed at his daughter's obviously blood thirsty bent. "Just when I think we're nothing alike," he remarked.

"How about you and I go?" Buffy said. "Then we'll have Lydia show us what she can do."

"How about you show them how to fight without losing control?" Scott said to his girlfriend.

"Of course," Malia said confidently.

Buffy watched her as they circled one another. "You're not a wolf, right?" she asked.

"Nope. I'm a werecoyote," she said.

"Malia spent eight years trapped in that form," Scott shared. "So she's a bit wild."

"That's his way of saying I don't care about the dumb shit he and other kids my age do," Malia said. Then she sprung at Buffy without telegraphing her move.

Buffy was impressed at the girl's flawless execution as they traded hits. The girl's reflexes were equal to a slayer, and she didn't hesitate. "You remind me a lot of this slayer I used to know," Buffy said as she dodged another hit. "Her name was Kendra."

"Oh yeah?" Malia said, not caring but being polite. Because of this woman's presence, Scott was willing to go away with her. Malia was prepared to let the woman get in a few hits just to make her feel good about herself. However, the little blonde was slippery.

"She was relentless, focused, and driven like you are," Buffy said. She grabbed Malia's fist when she tried to hit her. Malia frowned, not expecting that move and tried to pull her hand back. When Buffy didn't release her, she hit Buffy with her other hand. Buffy, though, grabbed the other hand, too.

"What's your deal?" Malia asked, getting annoyed. "Let me go."

"Make me," Buffy said, holding her hands immobile.

Malia tried brute strength and was surprised to discover that Buffy was stronger than her. "You're much stronger than you look," Malia said.

"Yes, I know," Buffy said with a smirk.

Malia wasn't as much like Kendra as Buffy thought, however. She pulled her head back and slammed hers into Buffy's and brought her knee hard into Buffy's stomach, knocking herself lose.

Buffy let go and stepped back, grinning. "I was wrong," she said. "You are better than Kendra. That was fantastic!"

Buffy looked at Liam. "Did you see that? She was annoyed and frustrated with me, but she never lost her cool. She found a way to get out of my hold without losing control," Buffy said. She looked back at Malia. "Well done."

Malia wasn't used to people complimenting her or looking at her in admiration, so she blushed. Scott put his arm around her. "Nice work, babe," he said.

"That's my girl," Peter said, clapping. He turned to Buffy. "But I know you were holding back."

"Of course, I was," Buffy said. "This is a teaching moment, not a fight."

Malia, though, was outraged. "That totally wasn't a teaching moment! I don't need a teacher!" she insisted.

"No, you probably don't," Buffy said. "But the others don't have your experience."

Malia was mollified and remained quiet.

"I want to see what a slayer can do," Peter said. "Fight me. I've been dead before. I can take it."

"Oh, so you're a member of the dead and buried club, too?" Buffy said with a grin. "Fine. Let's go." She knew exactly how messed up this guy was and how much he'd hurt Derek. However, the man wasn't a soulless monster, though, so Derek couldn't do much to him. Buffy, however, could definitely make the man hurt.

Malia soon realized that Buffy wasn't exaggerating, and she most definitely had been holding back. The teenagers and the Beacon Hill adults watched as the very small slayer not only held her own with Peter Hale, but she punished him.

Derek had an idea that his girl was an incredible fighter as he knew what a slayer was by reputation. But watching her fight Peter without hesitating, trading him blow for blow and knocking him back several feet with her hits was startling. More than once she jumped high in order to come down hard on Peter with a powerful blow.

Buffy was having a blast. It'd been a while since she'd been able to let loose like this. Since she knew that Peter had accelerated healing even faster than her own, she didn't feel bad for breaking his arm. When he responded by slashing her leg with his claws, the audience gasped.

"Shouldn't you stop this?" Scott asked Derek in concern.

"I don't think getting in front of Buffy is a good idea," he said. He looked at Willow.

"It's fine. Buffy's not trying to kill him," Willow said, not worried.

"You can't say the same for Peter, though," Scott said.

Finally, though, Peter slashed Buffy's shirt off, and she stopped, grabbing it before she could expose herself to the teenagers. "Hey! Keep it PG!" she complained.

"Sorry," Peter said, breathing hard. He straightened his broken arm with a groan. Damn, she was tough.

Buffy put on Derek's jacket, zipping to cover herself. Then she went to Peter, getting up close to him. "If you pull any of your bullshit while I'm around, I will rip out your heart, and Willow will make sure that you don't rise again. Do you understand me?" she told him.

Malia growled, not liking anyone threatening her family even if she personally detested the man. Scott grabbed her hand. "Easy," he whispered. "This has to happen."

Malia glared at him, but she didn't speak.

Peter straightened up, giving her a genuine smile. "You are everything I expected," he said.

"Are you going to be a member of the team or play that lone wolf bullshit that does no one any good?" Buffy said.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Peter pointed out.

Buffy nodded. "Good. Don't kill anyone before running it by me, got it?" she asked. Peter nodded.

"She's okay with some killing?" Mason whispered to Corey.

Buffy, though, heard and turned. "Normally, the answer is no," she said. "I don't kill humans. But the hunters are playing a new game. Our friend Oz's entire pack was slaughtered, including his wife. Only he and his baby survived. He's a great guy, who is suffering because of Ms. Monroe. People who orphan children aren't going to get my normal consideration, but you, Mason, and Liam, Corey, and Theo, are still kids. I don't want you to carry the burden of taking a life on your shoulders—even if it's a deserving life."

"Some of us have already done that," Mason said, giving Theo a look.

"It doesn't matter," Buffy said. "The monsters that are out there will be coming to Beacon Hill as the dark energy from this town attracts them. They'll be plenty of things for you guys to kill that aren't human."

"So what exactly do you do?" Xander asked Lydia. "We've never met a banshee."

"I mostly just freak people out when I see things that aren't here or scream extremely loudly," Lydia said with a shrug.

"That's not all she can do," Scott said. "Parrish has been working with her."

"Where is the hellhound? I haven't met him yet," Buffy said. "I'm excited to meet one that's not a crossbreed like the disgusting ones we had in Sunnydale that attacked our prom."

"Parrish is quite pretty," Lydia said.

"A total hunk," Malia added.

Scott frowned.

"I can't wait to meet him," Buffy said.

Now, it was Derek's turn to frown.

"He had to work," Xander said.

"So what can you do? What has Parrish been working with you on?" Buffy asked Lydia.

Lydia used her voice to knock Buffy off her feet, stunning the Scoobies.

"Oh. My. God!" Willow said in awe. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"She's like the Black Canary!" Xander gushed. He stood in front of Lydia and got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

When Willow slapped his shoulder, he was unrepentant. "She's like you and Buffy in one person. A redheaded genius who has superpowers! She has to be mine!" he proclaimed.

Lydia laughed at the goofy one-eyed man. "I do have a fondness for dweebs and geeks," she said, looking down at him. "But my heart is already spoke for by another dweeb."

"All the good ones are taken," Xander complained, standing up.

"She's also barely legal, Xan," Buffy pointed out.

"So how exactly does that work?" Willow asked Lydia, totally fascinated.

Buffy leaned against Derek as Willow and Lydia chattered away. "I think this will work out," she said to him.

"Your friends are pretty cool," Derek said. Xander reminded him a lot of Stiles but not as annoying. He looked forward to texting Stiles about Lydia's marriage proposal later.

"Yes, they are," Buffy agreed.

"You even managed to impress my uncle," Derek said. "No small feat."

"He's not so bad," Buffy said. "Everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Even him."

Derek watched his cousin pretend indifference as Peter showed her his battle wounds. Buffy might actually be able to do what not even Malia could do completely.

Make his uncle a part of the pack.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_This was a fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. Review p_


	8. A Bold Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for this chapter as it does contain actual words of Hitler said during the Holocaust. Facts were taken directly from these two sites: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Mosaisk.com. Facts in italics were direct quotes.
> 
> If you are a Holocaust denier, get a life as it REALLY happened like this because the Germans kept meticulous records!

_ ****The Next Day***** _

Willow woke up next to Oz, holding his hand still. It was strange how they'd slipped back into the same level of closeness that they'd had before. Neither one of them were thinking of sex, so the touching was innocent. Her heart hurt for the pain that he was in because she knew exactly how he felt. Of course, Willow and Tara never had a child together, so she knew Oz was also feeling the pain little William would feel growing up without his mother.

"Dada," William called out, standing up in the crib next to the bed.

Willow was going to go to get him, but Oz was instantly awake and reaching for his son.

"Hey, kiddo. Daddy's here," Oz said, picking him up and kissing him.

"Good morning," Willow said, stretching and standing up. "I'll go get us some coffee. We're going to need it if Buffy's going to drag us shopping for the house."

"It'll be good to get out and see more of the town," Oz said.

William flashed him a happy smile. "I'll be back," she said.

A short time later, they were all dressed and eating breakfast together. Buffy and Derek had shown up to eat with them before meeting up with Lydia, who was going to take them to the best places.

Buffy got such a kick out of watching Oz feed William. He would take a bite of scrambled eggs and then reach for some on his plate and throw it at his dad, who'd catch it with his other hand.

"That's quite a routine you guys got going," Buffy said, grinning.

"Well, his mother always let him feed himself," Oz said. "He is old enough to start doing it with this kind of food. But I'm always worried he'll have too much fun and not eat enough. This way he has his fun, and I know he's getting some in his mouth, too."

"Wise daddy," Buffy said. It was so strange to see Oz both as a father, but also as someone willing to actually share what he was thinking. The man had grown up a lot as they all had, and Buffy was glad to have him back in their life again.

"Your reflexes are impressive, Oz," Xander said as Oz caught another wild throw.

"Thanks. I don't know if we can stay with the shopping as long as you, so maybe we can start off with bedroom furniture," Oz asked.

"Fine with me," Buffy said, looking at Derek.

"Not a problem," he said with a shrug.

When they were done with breakfast and all their way out, Xander put his hand on Derek's arm to get his attention. "Prepare yourself. Shopping with Buffy isn't for the faint of heart," he said.

"I think I can handle it," Derek said with an easy smile.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Xander said.

Lydia and Malia were waiting outside for them. Malia looked disgruntled. "I don't know why you're dragging me on this shopping trip. Not only is it not my house, but I don't like shopping. It's stupid," she said.

"Because it's a perfect opportunity to spend more time with the new pack members and get to know them," Lydia explained as the door to the bed and breakfast opened. Even Oz and his son were coming on the shopping trip.

"They're not pack—not yet," Malia insisted with a stubborn look. However, the adorable redheaded baby drew her attention. She eyed him in fascination, her complaining forgotten.

"Good morning Lydia and Malia," Buffy said. "Scott didn't want to come?"

"It's too early for him," Lydia said. "He said that he'll meet up with us at lunch."

"Oz, this is Lydia and Malia," Buffy introduced. "Oz, Lydia is the banshee and Malia the werecoyote."

"Cool," Oz said. He smiled at Lydia. "Nice to meet another fella redhead."

"It is unusual to have so many redheads in on social group—stastically speaking," Lydia said. "Is this your baby? He's so adorable, and he brings our number to four."

"This is William," Oz said as Willow carried his stroller. "We usually call him Will."

Malia stepped closer, and Will locked eyes with her. He held out his arms for her, grinning. "Oh, I've never seen a baby before—not this close anyway," she said, both excited and nervous.

"I think he likes you," Oz observed. His son was trying to jump out of his arms and get into Malia's—it was surprising.

"Can I hold him?" Malia asked tentatively.

"Sure," Oz said, handing him off.

Lydia pulled Buffy aside to tell her about the stores she wanted them to go to first, and everyone else watched Malia hold a baby for the first time.

"I can remember holding my sister," Malia admitted as she gazed down at Will. "She was a few years younger than me. She died with my adopted mother in the car wreck that my werecoyote mother caused when she tried to kill me. I was eight." She told the story so casually and without any emotional inflection, yet her gaze never left the babies. He grinned up at her and put his little hand on her cheek.

"My van is over there," Oz pointed. "We have to drive mine as I have the car seat."

"I can't believe your van is still running," Xander said, impressed.

"It's been with me for every journey," Oz said with a smile.

"So how many cars are we going to take?" Willow wondered.

"I can fit five others in my van," Oz said.

"I'll drive my car," Derek said.

"Wise choice," Xander told him. "Then when you get ready to crack, you can drive to safety."

"I'll be fine," Derek assured him.

Xander scoffed in disbelief. "You are so innocent and cute," Xander said with a smug grin.

"Take it easy, Xander. He's a wolf. I'm sure he's got stamina," Willow said, winking at Derek.

They laughed at Derek's expression, and Oz opened his van for Malia to put William in the car seat. She gave him a confused look. "How does this work?" she asked.

Oz showed her. "That seems secure enough," she said, testing the seats movement. It held steady.

"Do I need to tell Scott that you'll be wanting one of these one day?" Lydia asked her with a grin.

Malia flushed. "Only if you want me to hurt you," she threatened with a glare.

"I wonder if your kid would be a coyote or a wolf?" Willow wondered.

"Maybe a wolfote?" Xander suggested.

Malia rolled her eyes. "So we're riding in this van, right?" she asked Lydia.

"Derek's driving with Buffy, so yes," Lydia said.

"I'll sit next to the baby," Malia said, jumping in.

Xander got in next and looked out Lydia. "I guess that means you get the backseat with me," he said with a wink.

Lydia laughed, finding him amusing. Sure, he was flirting, but he was doing it in a teasing manner, so she didn't take him seriously. Stiles was her future—that was a definite. It may be a while before they were together, but she knew that was the end result. It had been too many years coming.

"Let's get this show on the road," Willow said excitedly. She turned to Lydia from the front seat and asked, "Where to?"

"Buffy said bedroom furniture first, so that's where will go first," Lydia said.

The shopping marathon was officially a go.

***** _Several Hour Later*****_

First, Lydia had Oz drive around all of Beacon Hills, so she could point out areas of interest to the newbies. She had Buffy on speaker phone, following in the car behind them. Derek was amused by Buffy's excitement.

"You've been here several days," Derek said. "Haven't you seen the sights by now?"

Buffy stuck out her tongue. "Lydia, Derek is talking smack about your tour," she tattled.

"It's 'cause he's a sour wolf—that's what Scott calls him," Lydia said with a laugh.

"Ah, that's so perfect! I love it!" Buffy gushed. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "My sour wolf."

Derek rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged on his lips. Her description wasn't quite the same as when it came from Stiles.

Eventually, they made it to the furniture store. The clerk looked wide-eyed at the group that moved from one side of the store to the other, debating and exclaiming. Oz pushed William around in the stroller as he and Willow looked at the toddler beds.

"Here's a crib that converts to a toddler bed," Willow said.

Oz smiled. "Cool," he said.

"Now we just have to pick a color and bedding!" Willow said with a grin. Once they made their selections, Malia took Will out of his stroller and walked around with him, much to his delight.

They took time going through the store looking for bedroom furniture for the house. A good time was had by all.

After selecting bedroom furniture and linens, it was time for lunch, where they were meeting up with Scott.

Buffy wasn't even tired but felt energized after they mostly bought out the town's furniture store.

"So the shopping was a success?" Scott asked, looking at the group. Xander and Willow both looked exhausted. William was asleep in his stroller, so Malia was obviously bored. Derek wore his normal neutral expression. Lydia and Buffy, though, seem charged.

"It was awesome!" Buffy said, beaming. "We got all kinds of things for the rooms. Now we have the kitchen and living room still to furnish."

"It was stupid," Malia complained. "Who cares about types of wood? The slayer and Lydia are both insane."

Everyone laughed as she glared. "You didn't have fun?" Scott asked.

"Well, the baby was fun," she admitted.

Scott put his arm around her, looking down at her in surprise. "The baby? You liked the baby?" he asked.

"Yes, Scott, Will loves Malia," Lydia said, grinning.

"He really does," Oz said, looking at the werecoyote. "You're nothing like his mother, but she was fierce. You are fierce."

Malia smiled, glad to be admired.

"You should've seen her with him, Scott. She was so great with him," Lydia told Scott. "Definite mom material here."

Malia flushed, feeling uncomfortable. "That's crazy talk," she muttered. She gave Lydia a glare.

"I wish I could've seen it," Scott said, kissing her cheek. Then he leaned and whispered in her ear, "You'll make a great mom someday."

Malia felt her stomach drop at his words, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she kissed him.

All the supernaturals at the table, though, heard Scotts words and grinned at the couple.

After they had lunch, Oz took William back home, and Scott took his place. Malia wanted to go with the baby, but Lydia called her a wimp. Disgruntled, she went with the group to look at kitchen appliances.

They went to Sears to buy the kitchen furniture. Derek insisted on paying for the kitchen appliances, thinking that if they moved out, that would stay with the house.

"What about the dining room furniture? We need a large table with extenders," Xander said.

"Dark wood," Derek said. "Pick something dark that isn't black."

Finding a table wasn't as easy as agreeing on chairs. There were too many opinions, so Xander made an executive decision. "As I'm the one who fixes all broken things, I'll pick the chairs," he declared

"Fine," Willow agreed.

It was five o'clock when the shopping was done. By this time, even Lydia was exhausted.

"That was fun!" Buffy exclaimed. "I wish they could deliver it all today, so we can arrange everything."

Everyone looked at her disbelief.

"You're insane," Xander said. "I have energy for pizza and a shower—that's it."

"She doesn't tire, huh?" Scott asked, impressed.

"I guess not," Derek said with a smile of affection. Derek had gotten tired of the excursion about two hours before it ended.

"I bet she's lots of fun with that limitless stamina," Scott said with a smirk.

Derek hit him in the arm.

"So Monday after school, we'll meet at the house to put the furniture together, okay?" Buffy said.

"That works," Scott said. "I'll get Liam and the rest of the pack over to help."

"Great," Willow said. "Thanks."

"Buffy, do you know how you're going to address the things that happened at the school?" Scott wondered.

"Actually, I've been thinking, and I do have a plan," Buffy said. "Since Beacon Hills doesn't really suffer from the Sunnydale syndrome—"

"What's that?" Malia asked.

"That's where everyone pretends that the town is normal, or they block things from their minds that they've seen that is clearly supernatural," Buffy said.

"Yea, I think the town, or many in the town, know that werewolves are real at least," Scott said.

"I agree," Buffy said. "So I'm going to address what's happened directly. Have a school assembly."

"That's bold," Lydia said. "My mother will probably hate it. She likes to pretend."

"I won't let her," Buffy said. "She's the principal, so she can't live in denial."

"Good luck," Scott said. He looked at his girlfriend. "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure," she said. "See you guys later."

Buffy looked up at Scott. "Can you come by Derek's tomorrow? I want to run by my plan with you and Derek," she asked.

"Okay," Scott said. "See you all later." They said goodbye as the pair left.

"Willow, can you help me with the presentation I want to give on Monday?" she asked.

"Of course," Willow said. "What are you thinking?"

"I am thinking that as Monroe operated so openly and without shame, we need to do the same," Buffy said.

"I can't wait to hear your plan," Willow said with a grin.

"Did you order the pizza?" Buffy asked Xander.

"Do you know me at all?" he asked, feigning hurt.

Buffy grinned. "Go take your shower, and we'll try to save you some," she said.

Xander scoffed. "Yea, right. It'll be twenty minutes, so I'll be back in ten. I'd never trust you with uneaten food," he said. He looked at Derek. "Remember that."

Derek smiled. "Will do," he said.

Buffy turned to him, pouting. "Hey! I need fuel. Nothing wrong with that," she insisted.

"No, there's not," he said, leaning closer to kiss her.

Willow smiled at the couple, happy for her friend.

***** _Monday*****_

Mason walked into the auditorium with Liam. "Do you know what this is about?" he asked. It was the last hour of the school day, and the teacher told everyone during their last class about the sudden assembly. They were instructed to lock their cell phones into their lockers and given time to do so about ten minutes before the period ended. Teachers even manned the halls to make sure they did it. Then, they were at the entrance checking students for devices. It took about fifteen minutes just to get all of them into the school's auditorium.

Liam nodded. "Yea, this is Buffy's doing," he said. "She's got something planned to deal with what happened when Ms. Monroe was in the school. I don't know the details, though."

Lydia's mom took the stage after everyone was seated. "Students, forgive the lack of notice for this assembly," she began. "However, we have a new counselor I wanted to introduce you to. She has a plan to bring this school back on track. There's been some ugliness in this school that sickens me, and we haven't even made it through a month of class. It'd be nice to pretend none of it happened." She stopped and looked at Buffy and Willow, who were off left of the stage, giving her an encouraging smile. Her gaze faced the students as she continued. "But we can't do that. We have to learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to make sure that we continue to be a school united as one student body. Please give your attention to our new counselor, Buffy Summers."

Wearing her hair in a low ponytail and an attractive top with her long black skirt, she hoped she looked professional enough. Her three-inch black heels gave her some additional height. There were more than a few whistles of appreciation as she was younger and more attractive than Ms. Monroe.

"Hello," she said, smiling at everyone. "As Mrs. Martin introduced, my name is Buffy Summers. Most people call me Buffy, but I think Ms. Summers is expected."

A few students laughed. Liam and the pack clapped, giving her support.

"I'm going to take us into a history lesson. Please bear with me because I'll eventually explain why," she said.

The screen behind her turned on, and an image of Adolf Hitler came on the screen. It was a YouTube video that showed how he began his signaling out of the Jew for his hatred. Sound bites translated into English his words.

"The black-haired Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end, satanically glaring at and spying on the unsuspicious girl whom he plans to seduce, adulterating her blood and removing her from the bosom of her own people. The Jew uses every possible means to undermine the racial foundations of a subjugated people."

"...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew."

". . . the discovery of the Jewish virus is one of the greatest revolutions that has taken place in the world. The battle in which we are engaged today is of the same sort as the battle waged, during the last century, by Pasteur and Koch. How many diseases have their origin in the Jewish virus! ... We shall regain our health only be eliminating the Jew."

The voiceover in the video said, "Not only was Hitler convinced in the absolute superiority of the German people, but he was convinced that he was doing God's work, trying to frame the Holocaust as a type of religious jihad." There was another clip of Hitler addressing a large German audience.

"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: 'by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.'"

It showed him indoctrinating the youth of Germany as clips of the propaganda videos demonstrated how their young minds were warped, filled with prejudice at an early age. The video was ten minutes long.

Buffy muted the audio as images of Auschwitz and the skeletal forms of the Jews showed on the screen. Many of the students groaned or gasped in horror. History teacher often shied away from these types of images due to the upsetting nature. She began to speak.

"Hitler signaled out the Jewish people because they were different. They were both a race and a religion. Their custom and faith was different than the dominant Christian faith," Buffy said. "Although Jesus himself was Jewish, this blind hatred of the Jewish people held no reason—only fear. People are afraid of those that are different. They are jealous of those who succeed where they fail." She paused and tried to look at as many of the students as she could. The images of the survivors of the Holocaust played on the screen. "According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia, eleven million people were massacred in Hitler's so-called holy war against the Jew, not including numbers who died in war conflict," she said. "That's basically the population of the state of California. Think about that. Some people say that's not possible. No one could ever kill that many people."

She looked down at her notes as she read off the facts. "What follows are the current best estimates of civilians and disarmed soldiers killed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. These estimates are calculated from wartime reports generated by those who implemented Nazi population policy, and postwar demographic studies on population loss during World War II," she read. Then she looked up at the audience. 

"Make no mistake. Holocaust deniers are beyond idiotic because when eleven million people disappear off the face of the Earth, people notice. There's an accounting of those gone," she said. She turned slightly to look at the screen. She paused as the images of the people groups appeared with the numbers scrolling across the screen. "Here's the breakdown of those that died because of fear, hatred, jealousy, racism, and prejudice."

**_ Number of Death _ **

_ Jews: up to 6 million _

_ Soviet civilians: around 7 million (including 1.3 Soviet Jewish civilians, who are included in the 6 million figure for Jews) _

_ Soviet prisoners of war: around 3 million (including about 50,000 Jewish soldiers) _

_ Non-Jewish Polish civilians: around 1.8 million (including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish elites) _

_ Serb civilians (on the territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina): 312,000 _

_ People with disabilities living in institutions: up to 250,000 _

_ Roma (Gypsies): 196,000–220,000 _

_ Jehovah's Witnesses: around 1,900 _

_ Repeat criminal offenders and so-called anti-socials: at least 70,000 _

_ German political opponents and resistance activists in Axis-occupied territory: undetermined _

_ Homosexuals: hundreds, possibly thousands (possibly also counted in part under the 70,000 repeat criminal offenders and so-called asocials [anti-socials] noted above) _

**_ Jewish Loss by Location of Death _ **

_ Images of each concentration camp appeared with the numbers superimposed. _

_ With regard to the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust, best estimates for the breakdown of Jewish loss according to location of death follow: _

_ Auschwitz complex (including Birkenau, Monowitz, and subcamps): approximately 1 million _

_ Treblinka 2: approximately 925,000 _

_ Belzec: 434,508 _

_ Sobibor: at least 167,000 _

_ Chelmno: 156,000–172,000 _

_ Shooting operations at various locations in central and southern German-occupied Poland (the so-called Government General): at least 200,000 _

_ Shooting operations in German-annexed western Poland (District Wartheland): at least 20,000 _

_ Deaths in other facilities that the Germans designated as concentration camps: at least 150,000 _

_ Shooting operations and gas wagons at hundreds of locations in the German-occupied Soviet Union: at least 1.3 million _

_ Shooting operations in the Soviet Union (German, Austrian, Czech Jews deported to the Soviet Union): approximately 55,000 _

_ Shooting operations and gas wagons in Serbia: at least 15,088 _

_ Shot or tortured to death in Croatia under the Ustaša regime: 23,000–25,000 _

_ Deaths in ghettos: at least 800,000 _

She froze the last image of the ghettos Jews were forced to live in. "This is real history. Some of you say, well, that happened so long ago. That would never happen now," she said. "Just like America's enslavement of the African American that last over two centuries, we like pretend these ugly things are a part of our past." She paused at a picture of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine came on the screen. Then various other X-Men. "We make comic heroes of people like this. Anyone familiar with these guys?"

The sudden shift from serious content to a popular pop icon confused many students as they whispered to one another. Some called out, "That's Wolverine and other X-Men."

Buffy nodded, smiling. "You got it," she said. "Any brave soul want to reveal to the student body their geek credit by sharing the premise of _X-Men 2_?" The movie poster for it was on the screen.

Mason looked at Liam, who grinned. "Go for it, dude," he said.

Mason stood up. "The government had a cure for the mutant gene because people feared or hated them. The movie starts with the attack on the school by the government after Ice Man was turned in by his own family. Then the X-Men teamed up with the bad mutants to free some others that were taken in the school attack," he said. "They each faced the dilemma of deciding if they wanted to be like everyone else and take the cure. Some fit in because their mutant powers didn't make them stand out on the outside. Others like Hank, who was the Beast, couldn't pretend he wasn't a mutant. Most decided that mutantism wasn't a disease to be cured, but it was an evolution of mankind. However, Rogue, the girl who couldn't touch anyone without killing them and absorbing their powers, decides in the end to take the cure."

Buffy smiled in approval. "That's pretty good," she said. "So the X-Men comics were first written as an allegory for the Holocaust. Bet many of you didn't know that." A few students laughed, mostly relieved to not be talking about a real massacre. "Today, many think of the X-Men as an allegory for other oppressed groups like homosexuals or minority races."

She paused, turning the screen off. "Picture show is over," she said. "But I have more to say. I have a point I'm coming to."

Liam whispered to Mason, "She is very clever. Look at everyone. They're riveted."

Mason looked and saw that almost everyone was hanging onto her every word, trying to find out where she was going with all this. A few looked uncomfortable as they begin to figure it out. Liam looked over at Theo, who smirked. For the first time ever, he didn't see a single cell phone out or anyone looking down at their devices. It was a nice change.

"Hating a group of people because they are different from you is wrong," she said. "There's no if, and, or buts about it. Bigotry has no place in our society, and it definitely has no place in this school. Starting today, any action that signals out anyone due to their race, orientation, religion, or species will result in a three days suspension the first time. Expulsion the second time. There will be _no_ tolerance."

She paused as students murmured. "Species? Did anyone catch that?" she asked. Some nodded. "We're all humans here, right?" She paused. "Yes, we all are humans, but some among us are special. They contain a genetic anomaly that makes them different. Other towns and even scientist would laugh at us for this claim, but you all know what I'm talking about. Werewolves. They are real. The ability to be both human and animal is real." Now students began to talk to one another. A few protested; some laughed. Many, though, looked sober and still, unable to believe a person in authority was so openly proclaiming what they knew to be true.

"This isn't a laughing matter," Buffy said solemnly. "I'm deadly serious. My predecessor convinced many of you to be afraid of werewolves like Scott McCall, who has been protecting this town for the past three years." She gestured to Scott, who was off stage to come forward. Scott and Derek argued for hours yesterday about her decision to outright confront and admit what everyone in the school already knew.

Scott stepped up to the mike. "I told Buffy this was crazy. Some of you might not know what's been going on, and you're really scared or freaked out by what you're hearing," he began. "I'm sorry." He paused, looking across the audience. "I was a sophomore when my best friend Stiles and I were listening to his dad's police scanner about a body found in the woods and decided we had to be where the excitement was. His dad, the sheriff, of course, caught him." He smiled and paused as a few students laughed. "I managed to sneak off while Stiles took the heat, and then I literally tripped over one half of a dead body." A student gasped. "Yeah, it was pretty horrific. Then something attacked me, and I was bitten. That's how I became a werewolf." Many students didn't look surprised. The lacrosse team and its coach definitely weren't. The teachers, though, were the most shocked. Too many of them lived in a bubble.

"As you can imagine, I was terrified and horrified to become like the monsters that attacked so many in the town. But I soon learned how to control my new power and not hurt anyone. My friends—others like me—some are werewolves, and some are other things similar—have spent the past three years protecting this town from the supernatural monsters that are drawn here," he said. "Ms. Monroe convinced many of you that I was the enemy. That werewolves were all monsters. My friend Lydia, Ms. Martin's daughter who isn't a werewolf, was shot as several members of this student body were armed with guns and shot up my house, nearly killing all of us, and doing extensive and costly damage to my home."

Some students looked upset, some guilty, and some incredulous.

"It was hard to suddenly be hated and feared by the very people I tried so hard to protect," he said, a note of sadness in his voice.

Buffy stepped forward as he stepped back. "Thank you, Scott," she said. Scott stayed on the stage, but he moved away from the podium. "Now I want to introduce my boyfriend, Derek Hale. He is reluctantly here, so clap and give him some encouragement."

A clearly unhappy Derek stepped on the stage next to Scott. "I wanted him to tell you this, but he flat out refused," she said. A few students snickered. "But he gave me permission to tell you what happened to him when he was your age. See Derek isn't like Scott. He wasn't bitten by a werewolf. He was born into a family of natural werewolves." The murmuring grew as the audience reacted to the very personal information she was sharing.

Derek whispered in a low voice that only Scott could hear. "My mother would kill us if she knew we were doing this," he said.

"It's a new day," Scott said back. Buffy's move was risky and brazen, but Scott had a feeling that it was needed to repair the extensive damage Monroe had done to the school and the town. When Stilinski's own deputies were turning on him, things were beyond bad. Something drastic had to be done.

"Derek's history is tragic. Once he had a really big family with several siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Parents," she said. "They lived in a big house mostly together. One day when all but Derek and his older sister Laura were away, a pack of werewolf hunters trapped his entire family in the house and set it on fire, killing his entire family. Children as young as six were burned alive. One younger sister and one uncle survived. The ironic thing is not everyone in the house were even werewolves. It's a gene that doesn't always manifest." She had decided to keep things simple as Willow suggested. Put it in words they can follow; that's familiar to them.

Once again, many students looked horrified. Buffy continued. "The dead body that Scott tripped over in the woods was his sister Laura, eventually killed, too. Why? Because there are people out there that just attack others for being different. No one in his family had ever harmed a single person in this town before the hunters killed them. They didn't let other werewolves come around and cause any problems either, and how were they repaid? Slaughtered like animals—worse really. We actually treat our animals more humane."

She paused again. "Is that the kind of person you want to be?" she asked. "Do you want to hate a group of people you haven't even bothered to know or understand? Do you want to be party to murder? Because that's what it is. Derek and Scott are Americans just like you. They have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Who are any of you to take it from them?"

"They're dangerous!" someone called out.

"Sure, they are," Buffy agreed. "To people who would harm you or this town. Any of you have a dog as a pet?" Some nodded or raised their hand. "Can your dog be dangerous to intruders? Are some strains of dogs more dangerous than others? Bred to defend? The rottweiler or pit bull have fierce reputations, but anyone here have one of those breeds?" Several students raised their hands. "How would you feel if someone just shot your dog for no reason? Simply because it was a rottweiler or pit bull? Or worse. What if they shot you and your entire family for harboring such a creature? Would that be okay?" She paused to let her words sink in.

"Scott's pack protects this town. There are creatures that harm humans. Not all werewolves are like Scott and his pack. Just like not all regular humans treat others well. Our prisons are full of regular humans that kill, rape, and steal. It doesn't mean all humans are bad, though, does it?" she asked. She glanced at her watch. Time was up.

"I know I'm going on a long time, and the school day is almost over, but I just want you guys to get this. Beacon Hills is a town that draws supernatural creatures to it. There are a lot worse things out there than werewolves," she said grimly. "But even if there weren't, no one has the right to kill indiscriminately. That makes you no better than Hitler."

One teacher on the first row stood up. "Okay, the message is understood, but not only do I think this is insane, but you are out of line for this entire assembly. This is an ambush!" she declared. A few others agreed.

"Was it an ambush when a student was attacked in this school recently by a mob of students while the teacher stood there and did nothing to protect him? She didn't even _try_ to stop them from hurting the student," Buffy said coldly. She locked eyes with the teacher, who sat back down. "But for those that doubt, we can prove this. Scott was a bitten werewolf, but he's an alpha, which is a leader—he's the rare true alpha. Most alphas become an alpha by killing another leader and taking their power. True alphas do not. They become an alpha because of the strength of their character. You know an alpha by their red eyes," she said. Scott stepped forward and shifted, nails, hair and eyes for all to see. He felt exposed and free at the same time. His mother, Chris, and the Sheriff were at the back watching him. His mother gave him a smile of encouragement.

Students screamed. "Please, don't be afraid. Sit back down. You wanted proof. Here it is," Buffy said, giving the doubting teacher a pointed look. Derek began taking off his shoes and jacket. "Beta wolves eyes glow yellow. Sometimes a wolf can have blue eyes." She didn't explain what that meant. "Derek can do what only a very rare wolf can do—only those born naturally can ever achieve this level of transformation." When Derek took off his t-shirt, some girls cheered and whistled. Buffy grinned and pushed the podium back, so Derek could show them. The rest of his clothes tore as he became a black wolf with blue eyes. The audience now was stunned, many on their feet. Quickly, the entire student body stood with the others, wanting to get a clear look.

Buffy reached down and petted him, a bit awed herself. "You are so beautiful," she said quietly to him. He licked her hand and turned to walk off the stage. Scott picked up his clothes and followed after him.

"I encourage you not to post on social media about this as people will think you're crazy, and I won't confirm to your parents anything that you repeat," she said with a smile. "But we as a student body must change. Like Derek, you must evolve. Know that the world is a wonderous place full of more things than you could possibly imagine. Some are wonderful, and some aren't. Starting tomorrow, any of you who want to see me and discuss your fear or anything regarding what I've shared, can start making appointments before school. Since they'll be a lot of you, only by appointment can you see me. Get here early and speak to my secretary, who will be sitting outside my office with a sign-up sheet. Thank you. Everyone is dismissed. Go home. Think about what I said and think about the kind of person you want to be."

Chris Argent didn't know how to take what just happened. "This woman is bold," he said.

"She is taking a huge risk," Noah said.

"I like her gustiness," Melissa said. "It's refreshing."

"I'll tell you one thing," Chris began, "these kids will never be the same."

"Monroe poisoned this entire student body," Noah said. "Let's hope Buffy's gamble pays off. These kids will go home and talk to their parents. Maybe we can get a handle on things."

"Maybe," Chris said. Did she help them? Or did she just confirm rumors and spread more fear?

Time will tell.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_ Monroe was so blatant, and the entire last half of Teen Wolf showed most of the town turning against the wolves and knowing about it, so I decided to have Buffy take the direct approach. I hope you approve. Review and tell me your thoughts. Thanks! _


	9. A New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I might be writing Buffy a bit too clever and logical than she was on the show, but this is a few years after season 7. We know from her SAT that she was really smart, but she never focused. I'm writing her as if she focuses her slayer brain on helping kids. It's not my normal way of writing her, so I hope you can like it.

_*****Later that Same Day*****_

Scott and his pack assembled at Derek's house where their new friends were going to stay. Liam and Mason couldn't stop talking about the assembly.

"I still can't believe you guys did that!" Liam said.

Buffy was leaning against Derek on the new porch swing that he'd just put up. She grinned. "Well, I had to do something drastic," she said.

"You definitely succeeded," Mason said. "It was incredible."

Theo and Corey agreed. "The students that normally look at me with suspicion wouldn't look me in the eye at all by the time I went to my locker after school," Theo shared.

"I can't believe you let me and Lydia miss it," Malia said, glaring at her boyfriend.

"Willow taped it, so you guys can watch it with Oz and Xander later," Buffy said.

Another car pulled up. The Sheriff's jeep came behind it. Melissa, Chris Argent, and Noah Stilinski got out of their vehicles. Parrish was with him.

"Well, that was quite a show," the Sheriff said.

Melissa hugged Scott. "I looked for you after the assembly, but I couldn't find you," she said. "That was so brave of you."

"Thanks," Scott said. "I never felt so free and exposed at the same time."

"I hope we made the right move," Derek said glumly. "I didn't like it, but I was overruled."

Buffy looked smug. "What can I say? Scott agreed, and he's the alpha," she said. She leaned up and kissed her boyfriend, who couldn't stay annoyed with her.

"I think it was a good thing," Lydia said. "Mom told me what you did, and she was impressed."

"I talked to her afterwards," Noah said. "She was a bit nervous, but she knew it was time to do something drastic. She just needed a little push."

"Good to see you, Parrish," Xander said, greeting the hellhound. "Guys, this is Jordan Parrish."

Buffy stood and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Buffy Summers. You are so much prettier than the hellhounds who attacked our prom," she said with a grin.

"So true," Willow added. "He's a cutie."

Parrish blushed at all the female attention, glancing at Lydia, who winked at him. "Uh, thanks," he said.

"That's Willow and Oz," Xander said, pointing. "I think you know everyone else."

"My son is in the crib taking a nap that I set up in our room," Oz explained.

"Yes, we're getting moved in this week," Xander said. "You want to help me put together the bed?"

"Sure," Parrish said. He followed Xander into the house, getting the tour.

"Can I play with the baby when he wakes up?" Malia asked Oz.

"Sure," Oz said, smiling at the werecoyote.

"We're here to help with the furniture," Lydia reminded her.

"What do I know about putting together furniture?" Malia pointed out. "Nothing. I was a coyote for half my life. I can play with the baby."

Lydia grinned and shook her head. "Fine," she said.

"That was really brave of you," Chris said to Scott. "My father would've been so pissed if he was still alive."

"He died? I'm so sorry," Buffy said. "My mother died a few years ago. It's never easy to lose a parent."

"Well, my dad was a bit of psychopath, and my sister, his protegee finally killed him," Chris shared.

"That's awful!" Willow exclaimed.

"This is Chris Argent. The sister of the woman who massacred my family," Derek said grimly. "He's from a long line of hunters, but I trust him with my life."

Chris smiled. "I appreciate that," he said to Derek.

"Did your sister survive the hunters?" Scott asked Scott.

"She's like a bad penny that keeps turning up," Noah said.

"More like a cockroach that won't die," Lydia said sourly.

"I didn't find her body," Chris said.

"Great. She'll show up just when we don't expect her," Scott said with a sigh of resignation.

"I always expect her," Derek added.

A delivery truck pulled up. Buffy jumped up excitedly. "That's the Sears truck with our kitchen appliances!" she said eagerly. She stepped off the porch to greet them, and they moved out of the way, so the guys could move the appliances in.

"I'll show them where to go," Oz volunteered, stepping inside.

"Mrs. McCall, if you want to go check out the house, Scott can show you guys the place," Derek said.

"Thanks, Derek," Melissa said, flashing him a warm smile. "It's a lovely place."

After the parentals went inside, Lydia looked at Willow. "Make sure you send me that video of the assembly, so I can send it to Stiles. He's going to be pissed that he missed out on the fun," she said.

"That's true," Scott said with a grin. "It's not the same without him here."

"He will be in town for Thanksgiving," Lydia said.

"When are you leaving for your trip?" Buffy asked.

"In two days," Lydia said. "Mom was upset that I decided to withdraw rather than be late for the semester, but I'm taking eighteen credits in the spring and plan on going to summer school. I'll be fine."

"It's kind of nice to not have school for a semester," Scott admitted.

"So what's the next step?" Willow asked Buffy.

"Well, tomorrow, you're going to play secretary, and I'm going to talk to the kids that are freaked out," Buffy said. "We'll take it one day at a time."

"Come on," Willow said. "We need to get the furniture organized."

Everyone agreed and got to work.

***** _The Next Day*****_

Buffy got to school a bit early, expecting some students. What she found was a line of them. Fortunately, Willow arrived a few minutes later and began organizing the students and signing them up for twenty-minute time slots. Three students stayed, and the rest got times to come back later. Willow wrote them all hall passes, feeling quite pleased with her job. She'd forgotten how much she'd loved being in school with all the learning. When they were students, Sunnydale High, though, had no one like Buffy that the kids could talk to, so Willow felt proud to be a part of something that was really good to help the kids even if her role was nominal.

For Buffy, the day flew by as so many students came to her with questions. Some were just curious while others were really freaked out. There was even a few that were angry with her. Buffy kept her cool, determine to not show her feelings about their bigotry.

"I don't know how you can expect us to be okay with monsters in this school!" a guy named Tim said. He was a junior.

"What monsters are you referring to?" she asked calmly.

"Those freaks! Those werewolves!" Tim exclaimed.

"If you're referring to Scott McCall, he's no longer a student here, and if you're referring to my boyfriend, Derek, I suggest you be careful with the name calling," Buffy said, giving him an easy smile.

"There's others at this school like them," Tim said sullenly.

"Okay, first of all, there's no one like Derek in this town. Second of all, monsters are not what people are; it's how they behave," Buffy said. "Timothy McVeigh, who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing over a dozen kids and two hundred more, was a monster. Parents who beat and starve their children are monsters. Cannibals are monsters. Werewolves look freaky by our normal human standards, but many people feel that way about Siamese twins. Many people felt that way about cross-dressers or transgender people when they first became known."

"It's not the same. Those people are humans. Werewolves and shapeshifters aren't," Tim insisted.

"So if an alien ship landed, waving a white flag, would you shoot them simply because they weren't human? Or would it be wiser to get to know them and make sure they aren't a threat to humanity first?" Buffy asked.

"See, you agree, they're not human," Tim said with smug satisfaction.

"No, I don't agree at all. I think if a werewolf and a regular person can have a baby together, they have to be human—that's just science," Buffy said. "They're biologically the same, but they have an anomaly that allows them to shapeshift. Like those people who are all bendy and can put their feet behind their head. That freaks out some people, and others are fascinated by it."

Tim stared at her a long moment. "I'm not trying to be offensive," he said. "I just don't get it. It's not natural."

"Well, that's debatable," Buffy said. "Natural is something that occurs in nature. Do you believe in God?"

Tim nodded. "Well, yea. I go to church sometimes with my parents," he said.

"So you probably believe that God created the world and is charge of nature?" Buffy asked.

"I don't think He goes around killing people with tornadoes and stuff like some do, but I do believe that He designed the system all life comes from," Tim said. "I think natural selection and evolution are just a part of the process He started."

"Does the Bible mention anything about werewolves or man turning into beast?" Buffy asked.

Tim shook his head. "Not that I've ever heard of," he said.

"You saw with your own eyes, though, that they exist now," Buffy said. "So what can you conclude? If God made the Earth and everything in it, and He set things in motion, where do things like werewolves come from? Are they inherently evil like demons?"

Tim was silent as he tried to think through what she was saying. He did appreciate that she wasn't preaching to him, but she was trying to get him to understand. "Where werewolves created by scientists?" he asked.

"No," Buffy said. "We do know that some scientist tried to take different shapeshifting genes and create a new species. Scott said they were called the Dread Doctors. They were like mad scientists. It really pissed him off."

Tim grimaced. "That's messed up," he said.

"Is it the werewolve's fault if a scientist takes his naturally evolved genes and creates something else?" Buffy asked.

"Then that creature would be the monster?" Tim asked.

"Well, I still believe you should judge people on how they act. If that shapeshifter person killed people who weren't trying to hurt him, then yes, he or she's a monster," Buffy said. "But I'd say that about anyone or anything that tried to kill humans."

"I guess," Tim said.

"If you really believe in your heart that God is in control or that there is some grand design even if you're not religious—I call them the Powers That Be—if you really believe that, then you have to conclude that the people or God in charge have allowed mankind to evolve," Buffy explained. "But the Powers have rules of science. Some things occur naturally like with Derek's family. Other changes occur when someone is infected."

"But that's like a disease," he pointed out.

"Well, you could look at it that way, but werewolves have this incredible ability to heal," she said. "Scott was asthmatic and kind of wimpy before he was a werewolf, so his werewolf infection that altered his chemistry ended up being a good thing for him. Diseases are always bad, but turning into a werewolf isn't necessarily bad."

"Can anyone be a werewolf?" Tim asked.

"Well, not everyone accepts the bite," she said. "Have you ever heard of someone getting a new heart or lung and then the person's body rejects it? They have to get another one or they'll die?"

Tim nodded.

"A werewolf bite is like that. Some people's bodies go through the change no problem," she explained. "Some actually die. Derek tried to save his first girlfriend who was dying with the bite when he was a bit younger than you. When her body rejected the bite, she died. Although she would've died anyway, it was like he'd killed her. It was pretty awful for him, so werewolves don't just go around biting people—not the good ones anyway."

"But the one that bit Scott was bad?" Tim asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yes. He was insane, and Derek took care of him," she said. There was no need to explain that the insane werewolf was his uncle, who he murdered and then came back to life.

There was a knock on her door. "Come in," Buffy called out.

"Buffy, you have another student waiting," Willow said.

"Sorry, Tim. We've went over a few minutes," Buffy said, smiling at him. "Why don't you think about what I said? Talk to your parents if you feel like they can handle it. Come see me in a few days if you need to talk some more."

Tim stood up. "Thanks, Miss Summers," he said. He gave her a small smile.

"You're very welcome," she said. After he left, Buffy sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Wow, that was tough!"

"You're doing great. He seemed to feel better," Willow said.

"I hope so," she said. "Send the next one in."

Willow smiled, nodding. "Sure thing," she said.

The day flew by as Buffy helped one student after another came to her for help.

After school, though, one pack of would-be hunters decided they didn't care for their new counselor. Led by a few of the football players, the waited after school, looking for the new counselor. At first, John, the ringleader, decided they should graffiti her car, but no one knew which car was hers. It never occurred to any of the guys that she didn't have a car yet as she was newly arrived in town. When her werewolf boyfriend picked her up in his black Mustang, they were frustrated.

"Look at that car. It's not fair. How did some werewolf get all that money?" John complained.

Donnie, a dark-haired, friend, nodded. "It's a sweet ride, though. Probably got it from all the insurance money," he said. "His house burned down and lot of deaths."

Toby, the only one with real brains in the group, said, "I researched the town's newspapers, and Derek Hale's family did all die in a house fire. The doors were barricaded from the inside. No suspects. The youngest to die was nine—Derek's cousin, I guess."

"Did the world a favor," John muttered. "No more freaks in the world."

Toby didn't think there was ever a reason to murder children, but he knew not to argue. "What's the plan?" he asked.

They saw Liam and his best friend Mason coming out of the school. "There's the freak, Liam," John said. "We know he's one of them,"

"Liam will get us suspended," Toby said. He really didn't want to pick a fight with the star lacrosse player. There was enough animosity between the two teams as it was.

"We'll just go after his little buddy, Mason," Donnie said, grinning in approval.

"Beat his ass and provoke Liam," John said. "Get him to cross the line first."

Toby shrugged. "If you want to get suspended, go for it. Mason is a nice guy. I got no beef with him," Toby said.

"Then keep your hands to yourself," John said, annoyed with his friends. "We don't need you."

"Whatever," Toby said, walking away from his teammates muttering, "I so need to get better friends."

Billy another teammate joined them after he left. "Dudes, I need a ride home," he said.

"Come on," John said, gesturing to his car. "We're going to plan a way to stop these freaks from taking over the school."

"Cool," Billy said as he got into John's double cabbed pick up.

The new counselor's presentation had pissed off as many people as it had scared, and some of them weren't just going to roll over because a hot blonde told them to.

***** _Several Hours later*****_

Buffy and Derek had spent the evening helping her friends move into Derek's house. Then they'd went out to dinner together, the entire group including parents. Scott, Malia, and Lydia were leaving on their trip to Europe the next day.

Scott looked around the large group that had taken over most of the Applebee's tables that could be pushed together. Xander had managed to get both Parrish and Theo talking about something. Liam, Corey, and Mason were discussing music with Oz while Malia flirted with the baby as Willow tried to feed him. Buffy was talking to the parents while Derek put in a word or two. Lydia was sitting on Scott's other side and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I think our new friends fit with the pack so well," Lydia said. "We can go without worrying."

Scott nodded. "Yea, I know. The slayers in Europe will give us a good idea of how the group operates without Buffy," he said.

Lydia turned and looked at him curiously. "Are you concerned?" she asked.

"Not really. I just want to know how they work as an organization," he said. "Buffy is amazing, but are all slayers as tolerant as she is?" A part of him was still concerned that slayers would view werewolves as monsters and try to slay them if they shift.

"I guess we'll find out," Lydia said. She watched Xander laughing with Parrish. "Xander makes me miss Stiles so much."

Scott nodded. "Yea, I know. It's like they're lost relatives or something," he said.

Derek looked at Scott and rolled his eyes. "Stiles will totally offend him with all his pirate jokes," he said, his werewolf hearing allowing him to easily listen in.

Scott laughed. "That's probably right," he said. It didn't stop him from missing his best friend, though.

After dinner, Buffy and Derek made it home. "That was so nice," Buffy said, sitting next to him on the couch with a happy sigh.

"Yea," Derek agreed, putting his arm around her. "I like your friends."

Buffy smiled up at him. "Yea, they're pretty great," she said. "But they'll be a few other slayers coming. I have a full-time job, so I'll need slayers in town that can stay up really late patrolling. It's only a matter of time before this city becomes dangerous again."

"Do you think the hunters will back off?" Derek asked.

"Probably not, but they'll be in for a surprise if they try to come after anyone in this town," she said grimly. "The slayers all over the world are also looking actively looking for Monroe and any of her hunters."

"Any sign of her?" Derek asked.

"Well, Giles said he got a report in Belgium of an attack on a small village of werewolves," Buffy said. "I didn't say anything to Scott since they weren't planning on going there."

"No need making them nervous," Derek said. "Peter's going to be shadowing them anyway, you know."

Buffy looked surprised. "Really?" she asked.

Derek nodded. "He told me that too many things could go wrong, and he didn't trust that Scott and Malia would listen to Lydia if things went south," he said. Peter only ever expected Stiles or Lydia to make good calls as he had learned how quick minded to two were. They were less likely to do the wrong thing—in Peter's opinion.

"You know Malia doesn't strike me as the kind of girl who will appreciate that type of overprotectiveness," Buffy said, frowning.

Derek grinned. "Oh, she's not," he said. "She'll knock his teeth in if she catches him."

"You know when you say that about her, I get the feeling that you're probably not being facetious," Buffy said.

"I'm not," he said. "I don't know her as well as Scott and Stiles, but I know she's a live wire—unpredictable."

Buffy grinned. "She would get along really well with Faith," she said.

"When's she coming to town?" Derek asked. Buffy spoke about her darker counterpart quite a bit, and he was curious to meet her.

"She's busy putting out fires for Giles, but she'll get her eventually," Buffy said. "Why didn't your uncle come to dinner with us?"

"He's not one for family dinners," Derek said. "Not anymore."

Buffy was touched by Derek's slip of words. "Family? You considered that a family dinner?" she asked.

"Well, it's the only family I have these days besides Cora," Derek said. "Noah, Melissa, and Chris have been there for me a lot. Scott's like my brother and Lydia my sister. Malia is actually a cousin, so there is that connection. Ironically, we didn't know that before the guys brought her in to the pack."

"Life's funny that way, isn't it?" Buffy said, leaning back against him.

"Yea," he said. For the first time in so long, Beacon Hills felt like home again, and he knew that it was mostly because of the woman in his arms.

**** _*Chapter End*****_

_I hope you enjoyed the update. Reviews make me so happy! Thanks!_


	10. The Status Quo

_ *****The Next Day***** _

Mason was outside his house waiting for the school bus. He didn't mind taking the bus even though sometimes he rode to school with a friend. He'd get his license in the spring, but he probably wouldn't get a car until the end of the summer. His dad didn't believe in giving him things that he hadn't worked for. That was fine with Mason because Mason didn't want his dad to ever throw it back in his face that he _gave_ him a car. Liam's dad was a doctor, so he could easily afford a car. Liam was a bit spoiled, which is why Mason thought he lost his temper so easily sometimes. For so long, he was handed everything. Now things were difficult for him, and his friend didn't always react well.

Yesterday, Mason had one friend and classmate ask him about Liam and his werewolf status. Mason didn't know at first if he should play dumb, but then he thought about Buffy and how brave that she'd been. He decided to be just as brave, and it had been a good experience. The guy was just curious and thought it was kind of cool that Mason's best friend was a werewolf. For the first time, Mason was allowed to show his pride in his best friend.

A car pulled up in front of Mason. He recognized Donnie, who was in his P.E. class, but he didn't know the driver.

"Hi, Mason," Donnie said, giving him a friendly smile. "You want a ride?"

"Nah, I'm good," Mason said.

"The guy driving is John. He's a safe driver," Donnie assured him. "He's on the football team with me. No reason to ride the bus."

"That's kind of lame, dude," John said, giving him a smirk.

Mason knew the guys were seniors, and he didn't really want to piss anyone off. He got in the back, and then another block, they stopped for two more. Mason found himself between two more football players he didn't know.

Feeling more uncomfortable than he'd ever felt in a really long time, he tried to make small talk. It failed.

"So, Mason, you're friends with Liam, right?" Donnie asked.

Mason nodded. "Yes, he's been my best friend for a long time," he said.

"It doesn't bother you that he's a monster?" John asked, looking at him in his rearview mirror.

The two guys next to Mason frowned down at him but didn't speak.

"He's not a monster," Mason mumbled, looking down. Suddenly, he was thinking this car ride was a mistake.

They pulled into the convenience store a block from the school.

"Coffee stop," Donnie said, jumping out.

Mason grinned and followed him out. He nodded at a few classmates that had the same idea. After he went inside and purchased a coffee for himself, he barely got a sip in before his arm was grabbed.

"What the hell?" he yelled as John dragged him behind the convenience store.

"Friends of freaks and monsters are going to get a beating," John said. Then he grabbed Mason's coffee and handed it to the guy Rick, who had sat in the backseat with Mason. Donnie and the other backseat passenger, Diego, joined them, surrounding Mason.

Mason knew things were about to get really ugly for him. "What? You want to punish me for not abandoning Liam when he got bit? What kind of friend would that make me?" he asked, hoping to reason with them.

"The kind that isn't friends with monsters," John said, punching him in the stomach.

He tried to move away, but Diego grabbed him from behind. Then Rick opened up his coffee and threw it at him. Mason screamed as the scalding hot drink hit his chest and neck.

"What's going on here?" a voice called out.

"We're just having fun," John said, looking over his shoulder.

Tim, the junior who'd spend time talking with Ms. Summers the day before, stepped closer and saw what was going on. "Hey, you guys need to leave him alone," he ordered.

"How you going to make us?" John asked with a smirk.

Tim pulled out his phone. "I guess I can call 9-1-1," he said.

"Seriously, dude?" Rick asked. "Snitches get stiches!"

"So now you're threatening to cut me?" Tim asked, dialing the number. "Hey, I'm at Terry's Market by the high school. Some of the football player are beating up this younger kid in the back. One of them is the quarterback, John."

The football stepped back, releasing Mason and charged after Tim, who happened to be on the track team. He took off running.

Mason was forgotten as the team had a new target. He pulled out his phone and called Liam.

A short time later, Liam arrived. When he saw that Mason was hurt, he worked to control his rage.

"Who did this?" he snarled.

"Some dumb football players. I was dumb enough to accept a ride," Mason said. "Rick threw coffee at me."

"I better take you to the hospital and have my dad look at your neck," Liam said, wincing at the clear burn he could see. Burns didn't show up on African American skin the way it did on Caucasians, but Liam could tell it was a burn.

An hour later, Mason was at school with his dad, sharing what happened with the principal and Buffy.

Buffy was enraged and demanded that the boys get suspended.

"Well, it didn't happen on school property," Principal Martin said.

"What does that matter? They assaulted my son," Mason's dad said. "So some rich white boys hurt a black kid, and that's okay?"

"No, of course not," Principal Martin said quickly.

"Tim called the police. The Sheriff will be arresting the boys, which should at least get them kicked off the football team, right?" Buffy said, looking at the principal expectantly.

"Well, it will get them suspended," she said. "I will talk to their coach."

"John is the quarterback," Mason said. "He'll get a free pass."

"No, he won't," Buffy said.

Mason's dad stood. "I'm going to take my son home now. If he's not in too much pain, he'll be back tomorrow or the next day," he said.

"I'll bring Mason his homework from his classes after school," Buffy said, standing and shaking the man's hand.

"I know this town is strange. Mason's told me about Liam's unfortunate condition," he said. "My son is black and gay, and that's hard enough. I won't have him harassed because he's a good friend."

"I had an assembly on Monday that made it clear bullying would not be tolerated," Buffy said. "It stirred up some things."

"I hope something like this doesn't happen again," he said before leaving with Mason.

"Natalie, you have to suspend the boys for at least 5 days or all that I said at the assembly is meaningless," Buffy said to her boss. "I said zero tolerance. If they think they can get to them off campus without consequence, they will."

Natalie sighed in resignation. "I suppose you're right. I'm going to get heat from the school board, though. How will we handle that?" she wondered.

"Well, Mason's day pointed out that his son was both gay and black," Buffy said. "Why don't you label what they did a hate crime on the official reports? Tell the parents you will convince Mason's parents to drop the charges if they take the suspension and consequences without protest or further incidents or retaliations from the team.

Natalie nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll talk to Noah about it," she said. "And their coach. Too bad they don't play La Crosse. Coach Finstock would nail their asses to the wall."

"One good thing that came out of this was Tim. He was on the fence about werewolves," Buffy said. "I'd counseled him about it. Seeing the football players target Mason because of his friendship with Liam has made him see things more clearly."

"He's the one who called 9-1-1, right?" Natalie Martin asked.

Buffy nodded. "He out ran them—I guess he's on the track team," she said with a grin.

"I hope this is not the beginning of more violence amongst the students," Natalie said.

"Don't worry. I got a handle on everything," Buffy assured her.

Natalie really hoped so because dealing with the Board and parents was a real pain in the ass.

**** _*Later that Evening*****_

Buffy and Derek were patrolling near the school while the rest of the pack was spread around the town. Willow was convinced that it was only a matter of time before vampires were drawn to the dark energy of the town.

Buffy was still all worked up about her day. "I just can't believe that they _burned_ Mason! He's not even supernatural," she said. "You know the guy who poked out Xander's eye I sliced in half with my scythe."

Derek glanced at her and saw her pout and couldn't help but grin. "You can't go killing human students," he said.

"How about we get Scott to bite them? Then they'll be one of us, and I can't beat their asses at least!" she insisted.

"What if the bite kills them? You want Scott to live with that?" Derek said.

"Fine," she grumbled. She was silent a few minutes as they walked along. "Hey, is there an actual graveyard just a few blocks from the school? That's not good!"

"It's not like any student has a reason to go to a graveyard," Derek said.

"They would if it's a short cut to somewhere else," Buffy said as they waked through the entrance. Buffy looked around, curious. "It doesn't have the large crypts we had back home."

"Feeling homesick?" Derek asked with a smirk.

Buffy shoved him, causing him to trip over a tombstone. She snickered. "You're so graceful!" she said exclaimed.

Derek jumped up. "I'll show you graceful!" he called out, chasing after her.

Buffy laughed and took off running. "Betcha can't catch me!" she taunted.

She was very surprised, however, when Derek caught her, lifting her up in his arms.

"I caught you," he said, looking smug.

"You sure did," she said. "What do you want to do with me?"

She wrapped her arms around him and slid down his body, her lips on his.

Derek returned her kiss with enthusiasm. When they broke for air, he murmured, "I want to strip you naked right here and shock the ghosts hanging around."

Although Buffy had made out in more than on graveyard with Angel, Riley, and even Spike, never had she wanted to have sex out in the open near a tomb. Spike's crypt was hidden, but here they were exposed. The thought of someone seeing them was tantalizing.

"I might be persuaded," she said, moving her head, so his lips could trail down her neck

Derek grinned as he smelled her arousal. "Someone is very tempted," he said, moving his teeth to nip at her neck without breaking the skin.

A scream broke through their haze. Buffy turned. "It's that way," she said, taking off at a run.

On the other side of the graveyard, a small group of teenagers were being attacked by something.

"It's vamps," Buffy said grimly as she threw a stake at the nearest one.

When it turned to ash, Derek nodded. "Guess so," he said. Although she'd told him they turned to dust, he hadn't actually thought she was completely serious. Stiles' head would explode when he witness this act.

"Remember, stake through the heart or cut off their heads," Buffy advised.

As she pulled a vampire off a teenage boy, she realized that she recognized the boys. They were the very ones who had attached Mason—four football players. "What are you guys doing out here at this time of night?" she asked.

"Trying to convince our coach not to kick us off the team," John said.

"Slayer!" the vampire said to Buffy.

"Yes, that's what some call me," Buffy said, kicking the vampire in the stomach. There were only two vampires, but that was enough to kill four teenagers.

"What are they?" Donnie asked.

"Vampires," Buffy said. "You guys run home. We got this."

The boys realized that Derek was there and looked even more scared.

They moved away, and Buffy traded blows with the vampire. "Do you want to kill it?" Buffy asked. "Pop your cherry?"

"You've been dying to say that, haven't you?" Derek said, shaking his head at her words. "I'll let you have it."

Buffy grinned and drove the stake into the vampire. Then she launched herself at her boyfriend, her legs going around his waist.

Buffy might've been oblivious to the teenage boys who were watching from a safe distance, but Derek wasn't. However, he didn't really care. Buffy bullied and cajoled him into changing in front of the entire school. He wasn't about to hide now, so he happily returned her kiss.

"I don't think our new counselor is human," Donnie said.

"Figures," John said.

"She's not a werewolf," Diego said.

"How do you know?" John wondered.

"One, she's too hot," Diego said with a grin.

"Plus, that vampire called her a slayer," Donnie reminded them.

"What the hell is a slayer?" John asked.

That was a very good question. Was she someone they could trust or should they be afraid of her, too?

****** _Chapter End******_

_ Review and share your thoughts or take a minute and leave a kudos if you are enjoying this tale! Thanks! _


	11. I Spy

_ *****The Next Day***** _

Liam went into school in a sour mood. Scott had left with Lydia and Malia on their European trip, so he was the only one left of his pack to keep things together. Of course, Scott considered Derek Hale a member of the pack, but Liam didn't know him. He wasn't about to trust him completely even if he was relieved that Derek was in town. If things got bad, it wasn't up to Liam to handle all the weighty stuff. Derek had been an alpha, and he had gifts no other werewolf had—not even Scott.

Of course, Buffy and her friends were a game changer. The woman was a force of nature blowing through the school, exposing all the dark places but unwilling to tolerate their existence anymore. Liam walked by her office and saw a line of students wanting to talk to her. Willow was sitting outside her office with a clipboard, obviously managing the group.

"Hey, Willow," he said, greeting the witch with a smile.

Willow stood up. "Oh, hi, Liam. How's Mason? Did he come to school today?" she asked.

"No, he's going to take a day to rest and regroup. His dad insisted," Liam replied.

"That's probably for the best," Willow said. "Make sure he comes to see Buffy when he returns. That was pretty traumatic what happened to him."

Liam nodded. "I will," he said.

Willow watched him walk away. She hoped that things settled down at the school. After the first bell rang, Buffy opened her office door and said goodbye to a student. Then she greeted the next one. "Go ahead and go in. I'll be right in," she said to the female student. "So you have three waiting and times schedule after nine for the rest, right?"

Willow nodded. "Yep. All good," she said.

"Oz is going to talk to the football coach today about volunteering to be help him with equipment or parents," Buffy said. "He wanted to do something to help, and we figured having someone unobtrusive like him around would be a good idea."

"Totally," Willow said. "Lacrosse is more popular, but we've not ever had problems with that team. From what Scott says, there's always been one or more wolves on that team. The coach knew and ignored it. The football team is a greater concern."

Buffy nodded. "True," she said. She turned to go back to her student. It was not an easy battle, but they'd keep working on the hearts and minds of the students.

At lunch, Buffy met with Mrs. Martin, Willow, and Oz to discuss what to do next.

"So did you meet the football coach?" Willow asked Oz as they sat around the table in Mrs. Martin's office with their lunch.

"Yea," Oz said. "He seems okay. He said that he hates dealing with the parents and would give me his first born if I became their contact person."

Buffy laughed. "They can't be that bad," she said.

Natalie Martin shook her head. "You'd be surprise. Parents can be the most challenging part of our job, and parents of athletes can be the worst," she shared.

"Do you have to go to all the practices?" Willow asked Oz.

"I don't have to, but I think I should when I can," Oz said. "That way I can start getting to know the guys."

"Good point," Buffy said. "We've got to win their hearts and minds."

"That almost sounds like a Hallmark card," Willow said with a grin.

"Ha, ha," Buffy said, sticking her tongue out at her friend. "The assembly got the kids thinking, but now we've got to make connections."

"I think you're going to need to do a meeting with the staff only, Buffy," Natalie advised. "They need to be able to talk to you about this, so they can reassure the kids."

"That's fine. I'd be glad to," Buffy said. Then she realized something. "I should probably tell you what happened last night when Derek and I were out patrolling."

"Patrolling? What do you mean?" Natalie asked.

"That's what we call going out at night looking for vamps and demons," Buffy explained.

"Vamps? Demons?" Natalie repeated, a note of hysteria in her voice.

"Vampires and demons are common attractions in hellmouths," Willow said.

"It's why we came, Natalie. We know how to keep a lid on it, and we know how to kill the things that go bump in the night," Buffy said.

"Vampires and demons are real? Werewolves are a biological creation. But you're talking about things that can't be explained in science," Natalie said.

"Not quantifiably, no," Willow agreed. "But they do have their own sets of rules and stuff that help you navigate the new reality in Beacon Hills."

"Don't be scared, Natalie. We're going to be here. My slayers are also in town to help the police," Buffy said.

"And Sheriff Stilinski is a far cry from the morons who ran our hometown, so things we'll be loads better," Willow added.

"Anyway, we actually found the recently suspended football players cutting through the graveyard that's near the football field," Buffy shared.

"That's not good," Oz said.

"No, especially since they were corned by some vamps, and I had to slay in front of them," Buffy admitted.

"They saw you kill something?" Natalie asked, alarmed.

"Well, they saw me stab the vamps with a wooden stake, and then the vamps turned to dust," Buffy explained.

"I need a drink," Natalie muttered.

Oz grinned. He really liked Lydia's mom. Even though she wasn't always comfortable, she was willing to do whatever it took to help her students. This wasn't anything he'd ever seen back home in Sunnydale. Of course, her progeny, Lydia was a fella redhead and a genius to boot. Oz was inclined to like her for that reason alone.

"After school—my treat," Buffy said, reaching out and giving her hand a squeeze. Buffy knew from Derek that Lydia's mom was never involved in the supernatural and only recent events had forced her into it.

Natalie was surprised by Buffy's natural affection. She was not nearly so open or expressive, but she was also grateful for the woman's presence in her school. Although Buffy wasn't comfortable and made Natalie nervous, she knew that the school and the students really needed her—the town and Noah needed her. In fact, Noah might stay alive with this woman's presence in town, so she smiled. "There's a nice little place off fifth street called Adrian's. I stop there for wine or dinner—they serve Italian," she said.

"How about you see if the Sheriff can meet us there for dinner, and we can discuss how he can prepare his men for the vampires that are coming to town?" Buffy suggested.

Natalie sighed. "I'd prefer more pleasant dinner conversation," she said.

"Well, we can save it for dessert talk," Buffy added with wink.

"Have you heard from Lydia?" Willow asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, she said they were in London and were going to spend a day touring the city before they met up with your friend Giles," she shared.

"Giles is the best," Willow said. "He was our school librarian—Buffy's Watcher."

"That means he was my mentor and trainer," Buffy explained, seeing the question in her eye.

"I'm glad that Scott decided to go with the girls," Natalie said. "I feel so much better about Lydia going—although I am still disappointed that she didn't start school."

"One semester won't set her back too much," Willow said.

"She's wicked smart, right?" Buffy asked. Natalie nodded. "She can take five or six classes in the spring and then summer school, and she'll be exactly where she needs to be."

"That's true," Natalie said. "She argued that same point, and I know she's right. I just hate to see her get distracted. For so long, she tried to pretend she wasn't the genius we both knew her to be. At college, she won't feel the need to hide her brilliance from anyone—it'll be encouraged."

"She'll get there. Don't worry," Willow said.

"I didn't graduate high school on time or finish college," Oz said. "I do okay."

"You're the free spirit kind of genius," Willow said, giving him a fond look. "Lydia is more like me except she's even more driven and confident."

"The world needs more super cute redheads," Oz said, smiling at her.

Buffy was quick to note that Willow blushed at Oz's light teasing.

Natalie laughed. "That's true," she said.

The bell rang. "Looks like lunch is over," Buffy said, shoving the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth. "I was going to ask you about the lacrosse coach. Should we get him to join us for lunch sometime? Scott told me that he was in the know."

"Bobby is a dedicated coach and passionate about lacrosse and the students," Natalie said. "I will talk to him."

They agreed to meet up later for dinner.

***** _London*****_

Malia grew tired of Lydia and Scott arguing over what to see next and walked toward the woman who had been following them. "Hey," she said as she stood in front of the woman. The woman was about the same size as Malia with brown hair.

"Hello," the woman said.

"Why are you following us?" Malia asked in that blunt manner of hers.

"I was told to," the woman replied.

Malia frowned, not liking the sound of that. "By who?" she asked.

"By Giles, my watcher," she said.

Malia knew that sounded familiar, so she hesitated. "Do you know Buffy?" she asked, taking a stab.

The woman nodded. "Yes," she said. "I dated her best friend Willow for about a year or so."

Malia relaxed. "So you're a slayer, not a hunter?" she asked.

"No, I'm definitely not a hunter," she replied. "I'm Kennedy."

"Malia," she said. Lydia and Scott made it to her side.

"Is everything okay?" Scott asked.

"It's fine. This is Kennedy," Malia said. "She's a friend of Buffy's, and her watcher sent her to find us."

"Are you a slayer?" Lydia asked.

Kennedy nodded. "Yes," she said. "Are you guys wolves?"

"Scott is," Malia said pointing to Scott. "I'm a werecoyote, and Lydia is a banshee."

"That's really incredible," Kennedy said. "We've never met any shapeshifter except for boring, mindless werewolves."

"My pack isn't mindless," Scott said, not liking the woman.

"Hey, I meant no offense," Kennedy said. "I think your string of werewolves might be different than the ones we're used to dealing with."

"Willow did suggest that," Lydia admitted.

"How's Willow doing?" Kennedy said. The sting of their break-up was still there even though they were an ocean a part.

"Good, I guess. She's got a job at the school my mother is principal of," Lydia said. "She's helping Oz with his baby."

"Little Will is the cutest thing ever!" Malia said, showing uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "He's got red hair, and he loves me!"

Scott gave his girlfriend a loving smile. It was clear that Malia had a maternal side neither of them knew existed. He found it very appealing every time he saw it.

Kennedy grew cold. "Willow is with Oz?" she asked.

"I'm not sure that's the right word," Lydia said. "You heard this his wife was slaughtered by the hunters? His son just lost his mother, so I don't think he's thinking of dating."

Kennedy was relieved. "It's just that Willow and I were together a while, so it's still a bit raw," she admitted.

"Willow is gay?" Malia asked in surprise.

"So she's not even telling people now?" Kennedy asked, annoyed.

"It's not really any of our business. We just met her," Scott reminded her.

"Do you know a good place to eat? I'm hungry," Lydia said.

"Sure. How about a pub? They're loads of fun and give you a real feel for the town," she suggested. "I can take you to our London headquarters when we're done if you want."

"Well, we wanted to see some more sights, but I guess we can go tomorrow," Scott said.

None of them noticed the other person across the street, who was keeping a sharp eye on them.

***** _Adrian's*****_

Buffy and Derek met up with Noah and Natalie for dinner. Xander and Deputy Jordan Parrish, joined them. Buffy was excited to spend some time with the hellhound and gave him a once over when Xander introduced her.

"Wow, Lydia wasn't kidding. You really are cute!" Buffy said with a grin.

Derek gave her a disgruntled look while Jordan blushed. "Oh, well, thanks," he said.

"Glad you guys could join us," Buffy said.

"Where's Willow?" Xander asked as they sat down at the six-top.

"She and Oz elected to stay in. I'm going to bring them back two pasta dishes," Buffy said.

They exchanged small talk and ordered their food, and then Xander shared his news. "I've decided to take the part-time position the sheriff has offered me," he said.

"I'm really grateful," Noah said. "I've got at least six full-time positions to fill."

"You know I could probably get two more slayers into town to do part-time on your night shift," Buffy offered.

Noah's eyes lit up. "Really? That would be amazing!" he exclaimed. It really upset him that so many of his guys had sided against. Some of his deputies he had known since they were kids.

"Neveah has finished her associates in criminal justice. She's a Seminole Indian from Oklahoma—very serious about learning and slaying," Buffy offered. "Then I have Grace. She's from New Jersey, and she's a real sweetheart. She's nineteen."

"Well, let me know when they can come to town and interview," Noah said. "Xander's going to start his training next week."

"Awesome," Buffy said, giving her best friend a beaming smile. "Giles will approve."

"So when are we going to meet this Giles you guys are always talking about?" Noah asked.

"Very true," Derek added.

"Probably at Thanksgiving," Buffy said with a shrug. "Dawn will come in with him."

"That's your sister?" Natalie asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yes," she said.

"Did Buffy tell you about the vampires we saw last night?" Derek asked Noah.

Noah looked alarmed. "You found actual vampires?" he asked in a whisper, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. It was a weeknight, so the place wasn't very busy.

Buffy nodded. "They had cornered those football players that attacked Mason," she shared.

"That's some poetic justice," Xander said with a grin.

"Well, I couldn't let the vamps drain them no matter how horrible the boys may be," Buffy said.

"No, you couldn't," Noah agreed. "I have to protect all the citizens of this county, regardless of who they are. Some make it easier than others."

"I just can't believe that vampires are here," Natalie said.

"There's been a lot of insane things in this town the past few years, so I'm not sure vampires really make that much difference," Noah said with a shrug.

"Vampires are much better than some things as they can't enter your houses without an invitation," Xander shared.

"That's comforting," Natalie said.

Buffy looked at Jordan. "So, Jordan," she said. "Are you actually fireproof?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said.

"That's really cool," she said. "You need to come by Derek's house where the gang is living and meet Willow. I know she has a dozen questions for you. All the Council's records have nothing about hellhounds like you."

They spent another fifteen minutes speaking of various possibilities that could hit the town. Natalie seemed more and more disturbed as the spoke. Finally, she said, "Okay, I can't hear any more of this! How can I run a school and live in this town, knowing what dangers are out there?"

"You can do it because this is our home," Noah said.

"And because you have all of us to help you protect the kids," Buffy said. "I've got a two more slayers that will be stationed here, and I can get more if things get dicey."

"There's not much, though, that Buffy and Willow can't handle," Xander assured.

Although Natalie was still anxious, she was smiling as they left the restaurant. Buffy was so confident that she wanted to believe everything would be fine.

Across the street, a lone woman was watching the group leave the restaurant with interest, taking particular note of the werewolf.

None of them noticed her interest.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_ I was watching Creed, the Rocky movie with Michael B. Jordan, as I wrote this. The restaurant is modeled after Rocky's restaurant in the movie. Comments are very nice, so take a minute and leave one! _


	12. A Nice Demon Roasting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the opening duo—two of my favorites in a scene together.

***** _A Few Days Later*****_

Bobby Finstock had been coaching lacrosse at Beacon Hill high for a long time, and ever since Scott McCall had gotten bitten by a werewolf, the town had become weirder all the time. Of course, Bobby didn’t mind. He liked weird, and he loved seeing kids reach their full potential. Bobby figured the good Lord knew that McCall had needed serious help if he was ever going to be a serious lacrosse player and saw fit to give him a gift to be all that he could be. 

However, the insanity that had taken place since McCall and Stiles had graduated was a bit much for Bobby. The fear and hate and out right bigotry that those werewolf hunters had brought at the beginning of the school year really pissed him off. He was glad that Natalie was bringing in outside people to help, but he wasn’t sure the direct approach that the new counselor Miss Summers had taken was a good idea. However, he had sensed a lessening of tension and fewer scared looks, so he would support it until he felt he shouldn’t.

He went out onto the field as the football team was finishing up practice and saw a strange sight. A short man with red hair was standing next to the coach with a baby strapped to his chest.

“Now that’s a sight I don’t see every day,” he murmured.

He walked over to the coach to find out who the new guy is. “Hey, Coach. How’s things going?” he asked. The man had been his football coach when he played football the one year back when he was a freshman, so he could never call him anything but Coach. The football coach probably should retire since he had to be pushing seventy. It wasn’t like he ever coached the team to any wins.

“Great, Bobby,” he said crossly. “We lost four players this week, and we have a game tomorrow.”

“Yea, I heard,” Bobby said. If he had a few werewolves on his team, his players might be more tolerant. However, he refrained from saying such a thing as the man was seriously old school. “So who’s the guy with the baby?”

“That’s Oz,” Coach said. “He’s a part-time IT guy for the school district, recently widowed with that little one to care for. He’s volunteered to help me out with the parents and possibly mentor some of the guys. It’s obvious they’re needing some positive role models. What’s better than a single father taking care of his responsibilities?”

“Very true,” Bobby said. “Will you introduce me?”

Coach nodded and stepped over to Oz, who was trying to memorize the positions all the guys were playing. He was off today, but he brought Will with him to practice. The boys loved him, and it broke the ice like he figured it would. This was his second day to come to practice.

“Oz, this is Bobby—called Coach Finstock by the students or Coach Fin by the really lazy ones,” he said.

“Coach is what my exceptionally lazy ones call me unless you’re standing next to me,” Bobby said with a grin. “Nice to meet you Oz. Are you new to town or to the school?”

“I’m new to the town. I went to high school with Buffy and Willow,” he said. “Miss Summers and Rosenberg.”

The football coach blew his whistle and stepped onto the field to give some instructions, so Bobby asked, “Are you one of our furry friends?”

Oz couldn’t help but smile at the coach, who he’d heard a lot about and nodded. “Yes, I’m a werewolf and was bitten in high school my junior year. My wife was a natural born one like Derek, so my son will be one, too.”

Bobby nodded. “I bet it’s reassuring to know that your son will grow up strong and gifted,” he said.

Oz gave him a curious look. “No one has ever said that before,” he admitted. “I appreciate that. Most days I just feel fear for him because his mother and her entire family was slaughtered by werewolf hunters.”

Bobby looked horrified and reached out, putting hand on Oz’s shoulder. “I don’t understand evil like that, but I’m glad you and your boy are safe here,” he said.

“Thanks,” Oz said, grateful for the man’s easy acceptance. “We’re having a meeting in twenty minutes. I believe Mrs. Martin wanted you to be there. Did she tell you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “Don’t tell her, but I don’t usually listen when she talks.”

Oz laughed. “Well, we’d appreciate you being there. It’s in her office. Pizza will be provided,” he added.

“Well, then, I’m there!” Bobby said.

Oz liked the man instantly and knew why Scott and the other’s spoke so highly about him.

A bit later, he and Bobby were in the principal’s office, sitting around the small table in the corner. Willow, Buffy, the Sheriff, and Pam Dale, the freshmen English teacher, were all there.

“Thanks for coming,” Buffy said. “Mrs. Dale, have you met Willow and Oz?”

“No,” she said, giving them a shy smile. She was in her forties with dark hair and skin. Natalie was good friends with her and knew she wanted to end the chaos in the school.

“I wish there was more teachers than Bobby and Pam that I could be sure about,” Natalie said.

“No, this is okay. Pam teaches freshmen, which is an important group. They’ll be the ones responsible for the future atmosphere of this school,” Buffy remarked.

“Bobby gets all of them,” Noah said.

“Very true, Sheriff,” Bobby said, reaching for the pizza.

“Help yourselves to some food,” Natalie said, giving Bobby a fond smile.

Oz passed his son to Willow, who cuddled him close while he passed out the drinks.

Once everyone was settled, Noah began speaking. “Bobby and Pam, we have some grim news that may seem very insane, but I’m going to give the supernatural experts here the benefit of the doubt. Buffy is a mystically empowered vampire slayer and Willow is a witch,” he shared.

“Cool,” Bobby said.

“Fascinating,” Pam said.

“The girls believe that there’s some dark energy in our town that’s drawing supernatural creatures here,” Noah explained. “My son and Scott McCall have fought several things besides hunters the past few years. No need to get into them all as we have new things to worry about.”

“Is there a way to get rid of the dark energy?” Pam asked.

“Not easily,” Willow said.

“My hometown was Sunnydale—you might’ve heard about it,” she said.

“The crater south of Los Angeles?” Bobby asked.

Buffy nodded. “Yep. That was Willow and I getting rid of the dark energy,” she said.

“That sucks,” Bobby said, frowning at the implications.

“Let’s not do that,” Pam added.

“Don’t worry. That should never happen again,” Buffy said. “Sunnydale was a special case. But it was how we closed the hellmouth permanently.”

“We’re living on a hellmouth?” Pam asked, looking upset.

“It’s a beginning of one,” Willow said. “It’s why we’re here. If we can deter dark creatures from taking up residence here, then it won’t get stronger.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Pam said weakly.

“It’ll be okay,” Natalie said, reaching out and patting her hand in reassurance.

“I hope you’re right ‘cause I don’t want to have to take up drinking again,” Bobby said, very casually. “The rehab center is expensive.”

Oz flashed him a grin but said nothing. The guy was a riot.

“It won’t come to that, Bobby,” the Sheriff assured him.

“One thing, I want you to be on the look out for is a group of students congregating or closing ranks around another,” Buffy said.

“We don’t want what happened to Mason to happen on campus,” Natalie said.

“Or the incident that happened to Liam,” Noah said grimly.

“Did that teacher have consequences for allowing students to hurt him without trying to intervene or call for help?” Buffy asked Natalie.

Natalie frowned and looked uncomfortable. “No,” she admitted.

“That has to be corrected,” Buffy said.

“I agree,” Noah said. “We can’t allow the students to run this school or give in to mob mentality.”

“It should be a formal write-up,” Buffy said. “I will have Liam and Mason—who witnessed what happened—write out a statement. You can have that when you speak to the teacher.”

“I will speak to the weres and see what other teachers you need to speak to. Change has to begin with the teachers,” Oz said.

“Weres?” Bobby asked.

“Well, werewolves aren’t the only things around,” Oz added.

“Malia is a werecoyote,” Natalie said to him.

“She spent her missing years trapped in her coyote form,” Noah added.

“That explains a lot,” Bobby said in bemusement.

“We have a few other types also,” Buffy said. “The important thing to remember is education is a step in the right direction, but if those in charge show a zero tolerance for bullying or discrimination of any kind, that will go a long way in keeping things under wrap. People can think whatever they want. We’re not the thought police, but we don’t want them verbalizing those thoughts and creating a hostile atmosphere.”

“Very true,” Natalie agreed. “I’m going to have a staff meeting on Monday during lunch. I figure if I provide the food, I can at least get their attention. Buffy and I will go over expectations and consequences.”

“But we wanted you and Bobby to know that we’re going to depend on you to let us know if there’s situations we need to address,” Buffy said. “Or teachers that you think we should be worried about.”

“So you want us to be narcs?” Bobby asked.

Buffy nodded. “Basically,” she said with a grin. “You okay with that?”

“Sure,” Bobby said with a shrug. Then he reached for another piece of pizza.

“I don’t want to get anyone fired,” Pam said with concern.

“No one will be fired unless they are fostering a hostile atmosphere,” Natalie assured her.

They spoke for a few more minutes, and then Noah had to leave. Buffy followed him out in to the hall.

“Neveah and Grace arrive tonight, and they both are willing to work part-time for you,” Buffy said.

Noah smiled. “That’s great! I could really use the help,” he said.

“They want to stay on part-time status because they’ll be nights that they might get caught up in slayer stuff,” Buffy said.

“They want the graveyard shift, right?” he asked.

“Can you let them do a nine to seven shift three nights? That’ll let them put in thirty hours,” Buffy suggested.

“I can do that,” he said. “You know, though, I can’t really partner them up—not while they’re new.”

“Then put them with someone that’s open minded,” she suggested. “When will you work Xander?”

“He wants to work dayshift two nights and mid-shift two nights, Sunday through Wednesday. He’s going for the eight-hour shifts,” Noah said. “Since none of my guys want to work Sunday, I am happy to accommodate him. He’ll do the swing shift Sunday and Monday and day shift on Tuesday and Thursdays.”

“That’ll allow him to mostly be home when we are,” she said, happy.

“That’s what he was thinking,” Noah said. “I’m going to partner him with Parrish. They’ve hit it off, and he needs a reliable partner.”

Buffy nodded, glad the hellhound would be pulled tighter. Xander was good at bringing people into the fold.

***** _Later that Night*****_

Buffy and Derek were at Derek’s family home making sure the rooms were ready for Neveah and Grace. They were driving in and should be there within the hour. She was glad to get some more slayers in town, so they could keep a lid on things.

Derek grinned at her as she fussed with things. He hadn’t seen this side of her as he had yet to meet her sister, but he liked seeing this nurturing side.

She stopped to play with the baby before they left to go slaying. “He’s such a cutie!” she gushed as Will grinned up at her and took a wobbling step toward her.

“He’s walking now,” Oz said proudly. “We have to keep a sharp eye on him, so he doesn’t run away.”

“From what my mother always said, werewolf babies were particularly precocious,” Derek said.

“Good to know,” Buffy said, giving him a look that stopped his heart for a moment.

Xander and Parrish came into the living room. “So, Derek, Jordan’s off, and I want to see what you got,” he said.

Derek looked confused. “Okay,” he said, looking at Buffy for help.

“He means that he wants you to go patrolling with him and Jordan,” Buffy explained.

“Oh,” Derek said. He looked at Xander. “Sure.”

“You wanna go with?” Xander asked Buffy.

“I think I’ll let you boys play without me,” she said. “Take the north side of town, and I’ll patrol the south side. Willow will go with me.” She stood up and kissed him goodbye.

“I’ll see you back here in a few hours?” he asked.

“Yep,” Buffy said. “Have fun. Don’t let Xander lose his only eye.”

“Ha, ha. Make fun of the one-eyed man,” Xander said, sticking out his tongue.

Jordan was shocked by Buffy’s insensitive comment, but Xander’s reaction made him smile. They were an interesting group.

The three men walked to Derek’s car, and he drove them a bit closer into town. Beacon Hill only had two cemeteries—one on each end.

“So Jordan was telling me about the Ghost Riders,” Xander said to Derek. “That sounds insane—getting erased. Nothing that crazy ever happened back home in Sunnyhell. Once these creepy floating men called the Gentlemen stole everyone’s voices, though—that was really weird.”

“Huh?” Parrish asked.

“We all woke up—the entire town—unable to talk. They called it a mass case of laryngitis and quarantined the town,” he shared. “Then the creepy men went around collecting hearts. They needed seven. Luckily, Buffy found the voice box where they kept everyone’s voice, and she screamed really loud. Well, I guess she broke the box first and got back her voice—then she screamed. The gentlemen blew up. Buffy said it was disgusting.”

Derek gave the man an amused smile. They hadn’t spent much time together, but he knew how important Xander was to Buffy. He needed to get to know the guy, and it was clear that rambling like Stiles was a clear Sunnydale trait.

“That’s crazy,” Parrish remarked with a laugh. They entered into a cemetery and saw some commotion. 

“Something’s happening by that maintenance shed,” Derek remarked, picking up his pace. He had no weapon, but the stake Buffy insisted he take in his back pocket. Xander had his axe and some stakes while Jordan was carrying a sword.

A man cried out, and Derek got there first, pulling the guy off the other one. When the man, turned and snarled at him, he realized that it wasn’t a man. His claws came out, and he slashed the creatures throat. Xander moved and joined him, grabbing the maintenance work and moving him out of the way. The man ran off in terror. Before Jordan could helps his friends, he was attacked by another demon. He raised up the sword and stabbed the thing in the stomach, causing it to scream and swing its large arms and hit him in the face. Jordan had to jump back and then swung the sword at the thing’s head. 

Relieved to see it stop moving, he turned to check on his friends.

“Man, first twenty minutes, and we shish-kabobbed two demons!” Xander said excitedly.

Derek was amused at the man’s enthusiasm as he reminded him strongly of Stiles except Stiles would’ve kept going on about it for ten minutes. “We’re going to have to dispose of the bodies,” he said.

“That’s the good thing about vamps—no fuss, no muss,” Xander said as he walked over and picked up the head from Parrish’s demon. “Man, Jordan, you really got your swing going, didn’t you?”

“Well, I stabbed it in the stomach, but it didn’t faze it much,” Jordan said. “That was the only thing I knew to do.”

“Beheadongs work with pretty much everything I’ve come across,” Xander said. He glanced at the weaponless Derek. “You need a sword.”

Derek held up his hand and claws came out. “I’m good,” he said, looking smug. 

“I guess that can work,” Xander grudgingly admitted as he glanced down at the dead demon Derek obviously had slain with those claws.

Derek laughed. Then he bent down to pick up the body he’d slain. “I guess we’ll throw it in my trunk and take it back to the house. Have a bonfire.”

“Oh, we have to stop at the store and get some marshmallows then!” he said with enthusiasm. Parrish shared a look with Derek, both thinking that Xander was a bit strange to want to roast marshmallows over burning demons. Xander felt their judgment and looked defensive. “Hey, you weren’t raised on a hellmouth. You get your gooey goodness where you can!” he insisted.

Since Derek knew that his girlfriend would be right there next to Xander roasting her own marshmallow, he didn’t protest.

Two hours later, the exact scene he envisioned came to pass. All her so-called Scooby friends were unconcerned about the burning demon bodies as they put marshmallows on their sticks. When Buffy tried to give him one, he waved his hand. “No thanks,” he said.

“What? Are you too good to eat a roasted marshmallow? Too common for Mr. Moneybags?” she teased.

“You roasted it over burning demons, Buffy,” he pointed out. “That’s a bit macabre for me.”

Buffy laughed. “Who would have thought that the big bad wolf would be so squeamish?” she asked in bemusement.

“I’m not squeamish,” he insisted. “I just think there’s nothing wrong with some standards!”

Buffy popped it her mouth. “Fine. I love you even though you have a delicate stomach,” she teased.

Derek knew he had to stop arguing with her because she’d only keep going. Then she’d drag her friends in to gain up on him. He’d experienced this once before, so he just rolled his eyes.

Buffy licked her fingers slowly, knowing he was watching. Then she raised up on her toes to kiss him.

Derek was powerless to resist her siren call, and his arms went around her, returning her kiss with equal passion. 

“Hey, there’s a baby here! None of that!” Xander protested. The irony of having a baby at a demon roast was lost on him.

Derek didn’t pause in his kiss and lifted his right hand to flip Xander off.

Willow’s mouth fell open in surprise while the two new slayers approved of their leader’s new man and laughed in appreciation.

Oz looked at Xander and chuckled. “I think you might’ve met your match with that one, Xan,” he said. Derek was self-contained like Oz, but he wasn’t uncomfortable with Buffy’s friends. He didn’t let their history or bonds intimidate him, nor was he threatened by him. Oz and Xander both had a good feeling about this guy.

Xander knew that if Derek could deal with the ripping, he might just go to the distance.

“Yea, he’s not so bad even if he’s too good to eat marshmallows at our nice demon roast!” Xander quipped.

Jordan Parrish just shook his head. These new folks were strange, but he kind of liked them.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_I was going to end with revealing one of the identities of the spies from previous chapter, but I liked this light-hearted bit better. Reviews keep me focused. Thanks a bunch!_


	13. It's Raining Jobs

***** _England*****_

Lydia was having a fascinating conversation with Mr. Giles when Malia dragged her out of his study.

"We have things to see, Lydia. You can talk to him later," Malia said.

"Malia, do you know much knowledge of the supernatural is in that man's brain?" Lydia asked. "There's not a single person in our entire hometown that can come close—not even Deacon."

"So you can talk to him later," Malia said, impatiently. "Or better yet, get his email address. You can be his pen pal. He's used to hot young girls asking him questions all day!" Then she grabbed Lydia's hand and pulled her down the hall.

"What's the rush?" Lydia asked.

"We have to rescue Scott," Malia said.

"From what?" Lydia wondered as Malia opened a door.

"From all of them," Malia said, glaring at the room full of slayers. They were lining up, pushing and shoving for a chance to spar with the hot young alpha, who came to visit.

Lydia laughed. "So are you jealous, Malia?" she asked.

Malia frowned. "Jealous? I don't know. I've never felt jealous before," she said.

"Does it make you mad to see all those women touching Scott?" she asked.

"Yes, I want to scratch their eyes out," she said.

"Yep, you're definitely jealous," Lydia announced. "Why don't you offer to spar with some of them?"

"I'd rather get Scott and go," she said.

"Then go take your man," Lydia said with a grin.

Malia did just that. She elbowed her way through the prong of girls, decked two of them and then shoved the last one out of the way. "No more man handling my man!" she growled, turning on the group and flashing her were eyes at them.

"Hey, she's a were, too," one of the girls said.

"Why aren't you sparring?" another said.

Kennedy came in. "Okay, bitches, get back from the weres," she ordered.

"Malia didn't like the attention Scott was giving all these ladies," Lydia said.

"They don't get to spend time with guys who can keep up with them on a physical level," Kennedy said.

"I can tell," Lydia said. "Malia wants to do some more sightseeing. Do you have a slayer that could help play tourist?"

"Yes, Susie can. She's from here, so I'll go get her," Kennedy said.

After Malia put down one slayer and lost to another, Lydia pulled her aside. "Kennedy has someone to play tour guide, so let's go," she said.

They untangled themselves from the slayers, who loved fighting and testing their strength almost as much as they loved slaying monsters and headed out.

Scott was deeply amused by Malia's jealousy. "Babe, green is a sexy color on you," he said, pulling her in for a kiss.

Malia was puzzled by the comment, so she didn't really return his kiss. "I'm not wearing green," she said.

Lydia laughed. "He meant you were jealous, and your display of jealousy turns him on," Lydia said. Although she didn't mind being the third to their twosome, sometimes she really missed her Stiles.

"If I was in a mob of hot guys, you'd not like it either," Malia said sourly.

"No, I would not," Scott said, pulling her close for another kiss.

"Hey, guys, do you think before we go home to Beacon Hills, we can stop by and visit Stiles?" Lydia asked.

"Sure," Scott said. "I'm sure he's getting into all kinds of trouble without us."

"I just don't want to wait until Thanksgiving to see him," Lydia said.

"By the time we get home, it'll almost be Thanksgiving," Malia pointed out.

"So we'll bring him back home with us," Lydia said with a shrug.

"Guys, this is Susie," Kennedy said. "She said she would be happy to show you around."

Susie was not nearly as predatory as the other slayers they met. She looked to be around twenty with brown hair and a warm smile. There wasn't the in your face beauty many of the slayers had, but there was something reassuring about her. Malia, who rarely liked anyone the first time she met them, liked her immediately.

"Good. Let's go," Malia said. She turned and walked toward the exit with her boyfriend following her.

"It's nice to meet you, Susie," Lydia said. "I'm Lydia. The guy being dragged by his girlfriend is Scott."

Susie smiled. "Are all werecoyotes as abrupt as Malia?" Susie wondered.

Lydia fell in step with her and shook her head. "No. She actually was stuck in her coyote form from the time she was nine until she just a few years ago," Lydia said. "She has no patience for social niceties."

"Most slayers don't either," Susie said. "Americans, of course, are often the worse at ignoring social convention."

As they came out of the slayer house, one of the people watching them made a call.

"They're with a slayer," the guy said.

"Why would vampires slayers care about werewolves?" his leader wondered.

"I don't know. What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Well, Patrick, I don't think it's a good idea to kill a slayer. Not when there's so many of them now," he replied.

"That's true," Patrick said. "But Ed, we might never get a chance like this. The Alpha is just walking around our city."

"Rumor is that this McCall guy is a true alpha," Ed said. "Do you know what that means?"

"No," Patrick admitted.

"It means that he is alpha not because he murdered another and absorbed their power, but he is alpha because of the strength of his character," Ed said. "Is this what we've come to now? Murdering werewolves who lead without bloodshed?"

"But Monroe has rallied hunters all over that used to follow Gerard Argent. She wants all weres killed without exception," Patrick said. "She's seen what they can do when left unchecked."

"Is genocide the solution, though? Do we have a right to wipe out an entire species?" he asked. "We keep down the tiger and wolf population because they're dangerous to humanity, but no one really wants to see them disappear off the planet. Do we have the right to play God?"

"I don't know," Patrick said. "That's above my pay grade."

"I'm going to let this go to a vote," Ed said. "Whatever the council decides, we will do."

"Do you want me to keep following them?" Patrick asked.

"Yes," Ed said. "We must know where they are at all times."

Patrick said goodbye and followed the slayer into the subway tunnel.

Susie paused, sensing something.

"What's wrong?" Lydia asked.

"I don't know," she said, looking around. There were too many people around them for her to get a read, however.

Shaking her head, she kept going, not seeing Patrick, who was on his cell phone walking several yards behind them. He pretended to speak on the phone as he kept them in his sights.

She also didn't see the other man who was following them, but she knew something was out there. However, it was daytime, so she didn't worry too much about it.

***** _Beacon Hills*****_

Xander went down to breakfast ready with his bag packed. His two girls were waiting for him.

"What are you doing here so early, Buffy?" he asked.

"Willow got up and made breakfast," Buffy said. "I wanted to eat with you before you left for you two weeks training."

"I still can't believe you're going to be a deputy," Willow said.

"I'm tired of moving, Will," Xander said with a shrug. "This place is going to be our home, and the Sheriff really needs help. I like Jordan, and it's great to be around people that are in the know. The actual sheriff knows about the supernatural and does everything he can to help. This is like the best place ever. Plus, it's so much warmer than Cleveland!"

Buffy laughed. "That's true," she said.

Oz came in with the baby. "I smell bacon," he said.

"I cooked breakfast," Willow said.

"Cool," Oz said.

They sat down and had breakfast. Willow fed Will some scrambled eggs while Xander showed Buffy his training schedule.

"I don't like all the guns, but Beacon Hills isn't Sunnydale," she said. "And I do trust Noah."

"Derek trusts him, right?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded. "He does," Buffy said. "He said that he and Chris Argent have never let him down. Argent is the brother of Kate, the crazy woman who seduced him as a teenager and then trapped his family in the house while she set it on fire."

"It's surprising that he'd ever trust that woman's brother," Xander said.

"He didn't at first," Buffy said. "But he said that Argent has chosen their side again and again. First, he did so because his daughter Allison was in love with Scott. Then he did so to honor her after she died protecting her friends."

"She wasn't yet eighteen, right?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yes. She was an incredible archer Derek said," she shared.

"That's too young to die," Willow said sadly.

"Isn't Argent dating Scott's mom?" Xander asked.

"That's what Scott told me," Buffy said.

"You guys are turning into a bunch of old hens," Oz said with a grin.

"Are suggesting we should stop gossiping?" Xander said, his eyes wide.

Oz chuckled. "Never," he said.

"We're not gossiping," Willow said quickly.

"Of course, we're not," Buffy said with a bright smile. "We are just sharing information about our new friends."

"That's right," Willow agreed.

Xander laughed. "Okay, I'm out of time," he said. "I love you all, but I need to go. Jordan is driving me to the training site."

"Oh, Jordan is, huh?" Willow asked with a grin. "What else does _Jordan_ do?"

Xander blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You better go, Xander. Don't wait for her to answer," Oz said with a knowing grin.

"Yes, leave, so we can _not_ gossip about you and your new pal _Jordan_ ," Buffy added, winking at him.

Xander rolled his eyes and bent to kiss the baby. "Oz, I leave these crazy women in your hands. I'll see you all at Thanksgiving," he said.

"See you," Oz said.

"Well, it's time for us to go to school and deal with the staff meeting," Buffy said, looking at the time. She stood up and hugged Xander, and Willow did the same.

A half hour later, Buffy and Willow was at the staff meeting, listening to Mrs. Martin tell the teachers about the new zero tolerance policy she was going to enforce.

"No longer can we allow mob mentality to rule this school," she said. "I dropped the ball with Mrs. Monroe. That's on me. But some of you have been allowing students to bully, harass and even hurt other students. That's going to stop, or you'll be asked to leave."

"What do you mean?" the history teacher asked.

"I mean I will be issuing write-ups to any teacher I see fostering discrimination," Natalie said.

"Seriously?" the volleyball coach asked.

"Look, we know this school has some special students with aspects that are not normal, but we don't want what happened to Mason to happen to anyone else," Natalie said. "Mason's not supernatural. He's just friends with some who are. Also, he’s African American and openly gay. What happened to him is considered a hate crime by every definition of the term."

"Not to mention, Liam was jumped by several other students in the middle of class, and the teacher didn't even try to protect him," Buffy added, looking at the woman in question, Mrs. Finch, the biology teacher.

"He was instigating fights. He's a powder keg," she said defensively.

"There's never a justification for allowing a student to get beat by several others," Buffy said, giving her a look of disgust.

Other teachers started commenting, either defending or condemning Mrs. Finch. Natalie tried to stop it, but everyone was ignoring her.

"Silence!" Willow said, using her magic slightly.

Everyone shut up and sat back down. Some looked confused while a few flashed Willow a frightened look.

"Thank you, Willow," Natalie said. "Mrs. Finch, I want to see you in my office before first period begins. Ms. Summers, please join us. The rest of you, I've told you what I expect. If you don't like it, turn in your resignation. This school will be one of order. It is to be a safe place for students—all of them. My daughter was shot, did everyone forget that? Scott McCall's house was shot up by students that attend this school and by other adults in our community. Tamara Monroe—our school counselor—was leading a revolution of hate and violence. I allowed it to continue too long, so I'm not putting the blame on all of you. However, my eyes are wide open now, and things must change." She paused and looked at everyone who would meet her eyes.

"Now I don't care what your politics are or if you are personally horrified, fascinated, or scared of the werewolves and other supernatural beings we all know exist in this town. I've been told by experts who know these things that Beacon Hill will continue to attract dark creatures—things much more dangerous than werewolves."

"I've already seen both demons and vampires in this town," Buffy said bluntly. It was refreshing to be able to tell things the way they were instead of protecting the innocence. No one in this town was innocent anymore. Not after the Ghost Riders and the Hunters went through the place, stirring up so many things.

"Seriously?" Bobby asked. "Vampires are real?"

"I'm afraid so," Buffy said.

"Okay, this is too much for me!" Mrs. Finch exclaimed, rising. "I can't be in this school or this town a minute longer." Seven other teachers got up and followed her.

Natalie sighed, afraid that would happen. She lost two coaches, one science teacher, one math, one computer, one home-economics teacher, one history, and the music teacher.

"Those of you that are staying, I appreciate your commitment," she said to the twenty-five who remained. "We're going to call in some subs and figure out what to do with the classes of those that left, but we'll get through it. Thanks for all that you do. It's time for class."

The teachers filed out. Willow, Buffy, Bobby, and Pam stayed. "That went about as well as I expected," Buffy said.

"Really? You expected eight teachers to walk out?" Bobby asked.

"I expected ten or more actually," Buffy said. "This is good. We're getting rid of those that can't handle the new atmosphere we're trying to create."

"Willow, I guess that computer spot has opened up," Natalie said. "I might need you to give up one of your planning periods to teach a math course. Can you handle that?"

"You should let Oz do the math, and I'll take a science period of Mrs. Finch's," Willow said. "Oz is better at math than I am."

"Oz doesn't work in the mornings, though, so we'll get subs and start posting for teachers," Natalie said.

"How about we turn two periods of the music class into a self-defense course?" Buffy said.

"Until we get a full-time teacher, that will be fine," Natalie said. "She only taught three classes here. Then she spent time at the middle school and elementary."

"It's sad that the music programs keep getting cut," Willow said.

"Not the time, Will," Buffy said.

"I know—I was just saying," Willow muttered.

"Buffy, come to my office, and we'll work out some details," Natalie said.

"We need to reschedule my appointments," Buffy said, turning to Willow.

"I will put a sign on your door," Willow said.

Liam was in Coach Finstock's economics’ class when Mrs. Martin made the announcement.

"Students, I'm sure some of you might have noticed teachers gone today. We've lost several teachers today. Ms. Rosenberg will be taking over the computer classes full-time. Ms. Summer's counseling appointments for today are all canceled as she's stepping in to sub. She will be sending out new times by the end of the day. Also, she put a sign-up sheet in the cafeteria and her office for two self-defense classes she will be teaching. Anyone feeling scared or wanting to know how to defend themselves should sign up. Things will be a bit unsettled for a few days, but I expect you all to treat the adults in the room with respect. That's all I have for now."

Liam looked at Theo, who was next to him. Corey was in Mason's normal seat on his other side, and he leaned over. "What do you think happened?" he asked.

"I think the staff meeting forced a confrontation between the Monroe supporters and Mrs. Martin," Liam said.

"This is crazy," Corey said.

"So are you going to sign up for the self-defense class?" Theo asked.

"We don't need to," Liam pointed out. He looked at Corey. "You should, though."

Corey nodded. "I will," he said. "Mason will, too. He'll be excited."

"When is he coming back?" Theo asked.

"He said tomorrow," Liam said. He looked at Corey, who nodded.

"Yes, he had to go back to the doctor this morning," Corey said. "He might even show up this afternoon."

"I'm thinking he'll like the new changes," Liam said. Already the kids were adjusting to the acknowledgement of what he was.

"The slayer is really making a difference," Theo said with a smile.

Liam nodded. She really was.

***** _After School*****_

Buffy went home with her head way too busy. So many kids to help and so little time. Unlike her other gigs, this one allowed her to make a real difference in the lives of so many kids—not just newly called slayers. There was one more spot she thought she could help Natalie with, but she had to speak to Derek first.

"Hello," Derek said, giving her a warm smile. He put down the book he was reading. Buffy never caught him watching TV, but he was always reading. Who knew a guy so hot and physical was such a bookworm?

"Hey, babe," she said, joining him. She kissed him hello and looked at the book he was reading. _The Three Musketeers_ was a book she knew. "I actually know this one!"

Derek grinned. "You've read it?" he asked, surprised. His girl was no dummy, but she wasn't one to sit still long enough to read more than a magazine or demon text. The number of obscure texts on demonology she had read was impressive, especially considering that she knew very little of the classics.

"Well, no, but I watched the movie with Kiefer Sutherland," she said with a sheepish grin.

Laughing, he pulled her in for a hug, and then he pulled her down to sit next to him on the couch. "So how was your day" he asked.

She filled him in on all the drama. "I've got so much to do," she said. "Do you think you can handle patrolling without me tonight?"

Derek had realized right away that if he wanted to be with Buffy, he was going to have to take a much more active role in Beacon Hills. She took the safety of everyone in town very seriously, so he had to, too. His mother would've adored Buffy, and it made him a bit sad that she'd never get to know Buffy.

"I'd be glad to," he said.

"If I let you fix dinner for me, do you think you'd agree to another favor?" Buffy asked, kissing his neck.

He loved to cook, and she loved to eat. They decided that if he cooked, she'd clean the dishes. "I don't have to be bribed to do you a favor," he told her.

"Well, you might not think so, but this is a big ask," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"One of the teachers who walked out was the track and field coach. Cross country in the fall and track and field in the spring," Buffy said.

"And I care why?" he asked.

"You don't have a job or a kid to take care of," she pointed out.

"And?" he prompted, not sure what she was trying to hint at.

"And I was thinking you could take over," she said.

"Take over what?" he asked.

"Take over coaching," she clarified, smiling at how slow he was being.

"You need to me to sub for a few days?" he asked. "Okay."

"Actually, I was thinking more than subbing," she said. "The kids need to really know they can trust werewolves. They all know what you are, and this will be a way to get them to know you."

"You want me to be a coach? Full-time?" he asked, standing up. "That's crazy!"

"What's crazy about it?" Buffy asked. "Oz has a kid and is stepping up. Xander is working as a deputy. My two slayers are, too. I don't see how this is an impossible thing."

Derek wasn't sure he could give her this one. She seemed to not want to nudge him out of his comfort zone but to shove him out of it. "Why don't you let me think about it?" he asked.

"Could you fill in for a few days and see if you like it at least?" Buffy asked hopefully.

Derek could feel himself weakening. "Will I have to get up early?" he asked.

"Nope. The coach who quit didn't have a class until third period!" she said with a happy grin. "There's practice after school—basically it's ten to five," she said. "You get a lunch period, so really only thirty hours a week unless there's a meet."

Derek groaned. "Fine, I'll give it a try. But if girls cry and boys get lippy, I'm out of there," he said.

She hugged him. Then she pulled back and said, "Well, girls _will_ cry, and boys will get lippy. They're like that with everyone."

"You know you're going to owe me big for this one," Derek said with a loud sigh.

"I think I can handle that," Buffy said, leaning up and playfully biting his earlobe.

"And if Stiles gets a hold of a picture of me wearing shorts, I might have to kill someone," Derek growled.

Buffy giggled and then kissed him. Her stomach growling, though, broke up the mood.

"Okay, let's feed you, and then I'll let you start paying me back," he said, giving her a heated look.

Buffy smiled, falling deeper in love with him. She knew that he was more of a loner than she was, and she knew that he'd been working to meet her in areas that weren't easy for him. It was incredible how happy she was, and she didn't want to push him too hard. Suddenly, fear gripped her. What if she was asking too much of him? What if she caused him to want out?

"Derek, wait a minute," she said, moving to intercept in on his way to the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pausing.

"If I'm pushing too much, you'll let me know, right?" she asked. "I don't want you to think I'm too much work and run off."

Derek realized that she was really anxious and reached for her hand. "Honey, I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "I'm crazy about you."

"Angel and Riley were crazy about me, too, but they still left me," she said in a small voice.

Derek pulled her closer and put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "They couldn't possibly love you the way I do," he told her.

"You love me?" she asked, surprised at his confession.

"Of course," he said smiling down at her. "You are the most incredible woman I've ever met. How could I not love you?"

Buffy returned his smile. "I love you, too," she said. Then she was kissing him, dinner was forgotten.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_ I'm a bit sad no one had any comments on the last chapter as I thought it was a lot of fun. Now I remember why this story never made it past 18 chapters! I tend to focus on stories people are really into, but I really enjoy this story. I might right more some day. _


	14. Truth Time

_*****Next Day******_

Scott, Lydia, and Malia were enjoying their tour of London, but they were scheduled to take a train to Italy later that day. They said goodbye to the slayers and met up with Ethan and Jackson for lunch.

Scott couldn't believe how much Jackson had changed. Although Jackson had been in Beacon Hills recently, they didn't spend much time catching up. The two had never been close, yet Jackson and Ethan both were an extension of his pack.

Lydia, though, interacted with Jackson with the ease of an old lover. She and Jackson were each other's first everything. First kiss, first love, and first sexual encounter. Those ties were never easy to ignore. Sure, she always felt like she had loved him more than he had loved her, but she knew now that he had loved her the best he could at the time.

Watching him with Ethan made that abundantly clear.

"You're happy," she observed as Ethan told Scott and Malia about his job.

Ethan nodded. "I am," he said.

"I was surprised that you ended up with your best friend's ex," Lydia said.

"Danny wasn't," Jackson said with a smirk.

Lydia laughed.

"So do you want to come to the slayer house and meet their people?" Scott asked. "We don't have to get on the train until six."

"Sure," Jackson said. "With these hunters targeting us, we need allies."

"Buffy is really shaking things up," Scott said.

"And has Derek on a leash," Malia said with a smirk.

Jackson laughed. "I would like to see that," he said.

"I can't wait until Thanksgiving break when Stiles gets home," Lydia said. "He's going to enjoy teasing Derek."

The group left the restaurant and walked toward the slayer house, chatting. Suddenly, Ethan stopped, and then he looked around.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked.

"We're being followed," Ethan said. Then he continued walking, none of them noticeably looking around.

"I'm going to go into that restaurant ahead," Scott said softly. "The rest of you just keep walking. I'll circle back."

Ethan nodded, and Lydia started telling them about Kennedy and how infatuated the slayers were of Scott. Jackson laughed, amused to think of Scott as a heartthrob.

Scott found a spot inside the restaurant that gave him a view of the front of the restaurant but concealed him from view.

A group of people passed by and none others. Scott frowned, looking hard at the group. The gait of one of the men looked familiar.

He moved quickly before the group moved out of sight and got back outside. The group moved into a nearby store, leaving the guy to walk alone.

Scott moved a few steps behind the guy when the man suddenly stopped and faced Scott.

"What do you think you're doing?" Scott asked as he stared at the very familiar face in disbelief.

"I am watching after my daughter," Peter Hale said.

Scott shook his head and glanced up ahead, looking for his friends. Lydia was watching and saw him gesture to come to him. The girls came closer, and they showed various levels of surprise as they recognized Peter. Malia's was more outraged. Ethan and Jackson following after them while Susie walked much slower.

"Dad? Are you kidding me? You're the guy following us?" Malia asked in disbelief.

"I'm not going to let my only kid run around Europe with hunters everywhere," Peter said, unapologetic.

Malia rolled her eyes. "You know I have a dad? He's completely normal, never been dead or killed anyone," she said. "I'm not really your kid, and more _importantly_ , I can take care of myself!"

"I didn't say you didn't or couldn't," Peter said. "But I'm still going to watch your back."

"I did not want you to come with us on our vacation," Malia growled.

"Too bad," Peter said with a shrug. "If I didn't come, you wouldn't know that hunters have been following you ever since you got off the plane."

"What?" Scott asked, looking around.

"That guy over there in the baseball cap," Peter said, pointing across the street.

The man looked startled and put his head down and kept walking.

"I'm going to rip that guy's head off!" Malia growled, moving to cross the street.

"Not so fast," Susie said. "There are too many witnesses."

"Why don't one of us follow him?" Lydia suggested.

"I will," Susie volunteered. "Ethan and Jackson can be your guide. We'll meet up at the slayer house in an hour or so."

They decided to split up at the historic church. Susie went in with them, and then she circled around the back. It wasn't long before she had the guy following them in her sights.

***** _Beacon Hills*****_

Derek drove up to the high school, giving Buffy a sour look as he parked the car.

"Don't worry," Buffy assured him. "I'll talk to them. Then you can have them tell you their names and have them run laps or something."

He nodded and opened his car door. Buffy was anxious, hoping that she wasn't pushing him too far out of his comfort zone. She started to walk ahead of him when he reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her. Curious, she turned and gave him a questioning look.

"Is everything okay? You haven't changed your mind?" she asked, biting her lip.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I really minded that much," he told her. "I love you, but I wouldn't do this if it was going to make me unhappy."

"Really?" she asked, feeling hopeful. "I don't want you to do anything that would make you really unhappy."

He pulled her close and kissed her very thoroughly. Then he spoke against her lips, "You make me happy."

Buffy's butterflies turned into leapfrogs as she gazed up at him. How could he be real?

"So show me to these hoodlums in training," Derek said, smiling.

Buffy grinned. "Here we go," she said, taking his hand and leading him around to the bleachers where the team was waiting.

They had no idea, of course, that Derek was going to be their new coach. Their faces reflected their surprise and curiosity. Why were they there?

Buffy speaks to them. "Hello. I'm sure you know who I am. Miss Summers, your new school counselor. Your coach quit along with several other teachers because they were no longer comfortable teaching in our school," she said. She was still young enough to be honest with the kids, and the expressions on their faces made it clear that they did appreciate it. "Derek here has agreed to be your coach." The students looked stunned and started talking to each other.

Tim, the one brave enough to call out the football team, raised his hand. "What do we call you?" he asked.

"Coach Hale," Buffy said just as Derek said, "Derek."

"Coach Hale," Buffy said again, looking at her boyfriend with a smirk. "No, he's not certified, but he does have a college degree."

"Did you run track?" a kid asked.

Buffy started to answer when Derek said, "Yes, I did."

"You did?" Buffy asked surprised.

Derek shrugged. "I ran one year to get my P.E. credit taken care of," he said.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises?" Buffy said with a grin.

Derek smirked and looked at Tim. "So what do you all normally do?" he asked.

"We usually spend ten minutes or so running up and down the bleachers. Then we run," he said.

Derek nodded. "Five miles?" he asked. "Is that about average? Ten on Fridays?"

"We usually run longer since we're cross country. We do 3 to 5 miles when we do track and field in the spring," another kid said.

"How about you sound off your names as you take turns jumping up to run the bleachers?" Derek suggested. "I'll see if I can keep your names straight."

They began doing that, and Derek focused on learning faces with names. Buffy had already decided to stay for the first practice to make sure the students weren't upset that their new coach was a werewolf. Although some of the boys looked anxious, the six female students looked excited. The team wasn't too large with ten boys and the six female students. It took a special type of athlete to go out for cross country as it required a tremendous of endurance.

After they ran the bleachers for ten minutes, Derek motioned for them to line up. "We're going to go five miles today at a fast pace," he said. "I want to assess where all of you are when it comes to speed and endurance."

"Are you going to run with us?" one of the girls asked, looking hopeful.

"Yes," he said. He looked at Buffy, who nodded.

"I'll take the end," she said.

Derek looked at the group of teenagers. "Try to keep up," he said. Then he started running.

One of the boys whooped excitedly and took off, determined to impress his new coach. The rest fell in line and begin jogging. The girls, though, elbowed there way to the front to stay right behind Derek.

Buffy snickered as she watched the last take off—she couldn't blame the girls for enjoying the view. Derek's ass was prime grade.

Derek took the students into town, calculating a near three-mile distance before he has them heading back. At first, he kept the pace slow enough for them to match, but then he poured on the speed. Some of them kept up for a few minutes, but they quickly fell behind.

He saw that the gap between him and his students had widened, so he slowed. "Pick up the pace!" he called.

"We never run this fast," a student mumbled, not realizing Derek could hear him.

Derek grinned, enjoying their suffering.

When they got about a mile and a half from the school, Buffy decided to pick up the pace herself and began passing the students. A few of the male students grinned as they tried to keep up with her, but she kicked it up a notch, leaving them behind.

Several students whistled and called out to her, causing Derek to look over his shoulder. He grinned when he saw Buffy on his heels. Slowing down, he said, "I see you're having no trouble keeping up."

"Don't you know that I never get tired by now?" she asked with a wink.

"I believe we've established that I can wear you out," he reminded her, looking smug.

She laughed. "I bet a slayer can run faster than a werewolf," she said.

"You're joking?" he said, surprised.

Buffy didn't reply but passed him instead.

"Go, Miss Summers!"

"Show him who's boss!"

"My money's on the werewolf," Tim said.

"Didn't you hear what Donnie and John were saying about her?" Phil asked. "She saved their life when they were attacked by a vampire."

"Vampires? We have vampires?" Alex asked.

"Is she a werewolf?" Tim asked, feeling upset and betrayed at the thought. Why didn't she tell him that she was like them?

Phil shook his head. "No, she's not. She didn't get claws or anything, but she's like a superhero when it comes to fighting," he said. "But Donnie said the vampire seemed to recognize her and called her Slayer."

"What's a slayer?" Tim wondered. Phil shrugged.

The boys had slowed their pace and had a few others listening. Then they stopped as their new coach was a near blur as he finally overtook Buffy right before she made it to the field.

When they made it to the field, Buffy was pouting and looking up at Derek.

"I can't believe you beat me!" she said.

"I can't believe you thought you could beat a werewolf," Derek said, snickering in amusement. Learning that she was competitive was not a surprise. The sexy pout she had, though, was pushing his self-control limits as the rest of the kids approached. More than a few threw themselves on the grass, gasping for air.

Derek was breathing hard himself and walked over to the cooler to grab a bottle of water.

"How are you not breathing hard?" Tim asked Buffy.

"It takes a lot to make me tired," Buffy said. "I'm a martial artist. You should check out the self-defense class I'm going to be teaching."

"I'm not in music," he said.

"I'll be having one on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school for a half hour," she said. It was exhilarating to be able to directly help so many students. At Sunnydale, she saved who she could, but she foolishly didn't even train her friends. It was a wonder that Xander hadn't lost more than just an eye or that Willow wasn't killed.

Tim smiled. "I'll be there," he said. "Especially if you tell me why a vampire seemed to know you and what a slayer is."

The other team members all looked at Buffy, waiting for reply.

****** _To Be Continued******_


	15. A Bad Penny

_*****Where We Left Off*****_

"What's a slayer?" Tim had asked.

Buffy looked at the students, who were waiting to see how she would answer the question. She considered how to respond, glancing at Derek, who shrugged.

"I don't want to lie to you guys, but I don't think me telling you would help you sleep very well at night," she said.

"We're not stupid," Tim said. "We know this town is messed up. Guys on the football team said they were nearly killed by some monster in a graveyard, but you saved them. One of them insisted it was vampires, and the vampires said you were the slayer. What is that? Are you not human?"

Buffy could tell that the thought that she might not be human was upsetting him.

"Okay, have a seat, and I'll tell you what I can," she said. Then she began to give them a very sanitized version of her world.

"The world is much older than many people believe. Once upon a time before humans were created, there were these Old Ones, pure demons. Eventually, after humans were around, they mixed with humans, creating vampires and other dark supernatural creatures," she said.

"So vampires are real?" Tina asked, clearly afraid.

Buffy nodded. "Unfortunately, they are. They can't enter your home if you don't invite them, so don't ever verbally invite anyone into your home after dark. Crosses and holy water do repel them," she said.

"Does this mean I have to start going to church?" Craig asked.

Buffy grinned. "Well, it can't hurt, but at least carry around a cross or some holy water," she said.

"But I'm not Catholic," Tim said, frowning.

"I'm sure the Catholic church in town will give you some water," she said. "But any minister can bless the water—they don't have to be Catholic."

"So where do you fit in?" Tim asked.

"Well, almost as soon as vampires were created, a higher power made sure that there were warriors to rise up and fight back the darkness," she said. There was no use confusing the kids with the whole demon powered part of being a slayer. "For some reason, they decided that young women should be the ones equipped to fight the vampires. For a long time, it was just one girl—the Chosen One. She is empowered with stronger reflexes, endurance, strength, and healing. The girls are called vampire slayers. Normally, these girls are empowered at age fourteen or fifteen. When one dies, another potential is called."

"Fourteen?" one of the teens said, horrified.

Buffy nodded. "Yes," she said.

"What makes one person called over another?" Shawna asked.

Buffy shrugged. "No one really knows," she said. "Is it genetics? Is it random? I can't say. I just know that when I was fifteen living in Los Angeles, all I cared about was cheerleading and boys and the latest fashion. Then a man came up to me, and he told me that I was chosen. When I realized that he was right—I was very different, my life changed forever. So, Tim, yes, I am human—my blood is the same as yours. If a scientist was to examine it, they wouldn't see any anomalies or anything out of the ordinary. The empowerment comes from a higher power—it's completely mystical." She made sure to use that word instead of talking about magic. This was enough for them to handle.

"What do you mean by higher power? Like God?" Craig asked.

"I'm not sure how to answer that. I call it the Powers That Be or PTB," she said. "Is it the big G God? I can't say. I just know someone or something with power greater than humans decided that regular humans weren't equipped to fight the supernatural monsters that are out there."

"That's kind of cool," Shawna said. "It's girls who get to be the hero for a change."

Buffy was glad to see a few other girls smile and nod.

"So you can teach us how to protect ourselves?" Tim asked.

Buffy nodded. "The main thing is don't wander around alone at night," she said. "Beacon Hills is starting to attract more and more dark creatures. Werewolves are the guardians of the city, but I'm here to help them. And I have a few friends that are pretty special, too, so I don't want you guys to be afraid. Some of my friends will be working with the Sheriff's department, patrolling and watching over the town."

"Are you going to teach how to kill vampires in your training class?" Shawna asked.

Buffy looked at Derek. These kids were so different from the kids she went to school with. It was incredible how accepting they were. There was no pretending anymore with them. "I'm not sure that's a good idea—at least not on campus," she said. "We don't want teenagers thinking they can just go kill vampires. Vampires are faster and stronger than humans. They may look more human than a werewolf, but they're a demon. A demon that has hijacked a body."

"But we need to know what to do," Tim said. "The football players you saved were all big guys, and they didn't know what to do."

Buffy considered her options. "Well, I'll think about it, okay?" she told them.

"Okay, that's enough grilling of my girlfriend," Derek said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Go home. Be smart."

The kids dispersed, many excited to spread the new gossip. Others were more introspective, trying to come to terms with everything.

"Well, that was surprising," Buffy said as they walked back to his car.

"Not as much as it would've been before I met you," Derek said.

"How did you like it?" Buffy asked as he unlocked his car, opening her door for her.

"It wasn't too bad," he said. They got into the car.

"Didn't Mason say he was going to join the track team? I didn't see him," she said.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him," Derek said. "I don't really know the kid."

"I will," Buffy said. Mason already had a special place in Buffy's heart because he was a human willing to throw in with the supernaturals. His best friend because a werewolf, and he doesn't run or flinch. He was like Xander, and Buffy wanted him to be safe. "Learning to run from bullies is a good thing."

"So is learning to fight them," Derek pointed out

"We can teach him to do both," Buffy said.

"True," he said.

"So you wanna stop at that Chinese place and pick up some food to take home?" Buffy asked, giving him a hopeful look.

Derek grinned. "Sure," he said. He'd never dated a girl who loved to eat like his slayer. She burned so much energy, and she needed lots of fuel.

After he grabbed dinner, they drove home. Buffy gave a running commentary on her ideas and plans to help the kids. She was really excited to be able to make such an impact in such an important way. Derek used to want to be left alone, but now he was in love with a woman, who would forever be surrounded by people. His mother would very much approve. In some strange way, he felt closer to his mother having her in his life.

He unlocked his front door and pushed it open for her to enter. She was carrying the food and walked straight to the kitchen, sitting it down on the counter.

Unlike Derek, she didn't see the woman who stepped out of their bedroom.

"Hello, lover."

Just the sound of that voice had all of Derek's instincts waking up, and his claws came out. "What the hell are you doing here?" he growled. "How did you get in?"

"I broke the balcony door," Kate Argent said with a smirk.

Buffy heard voices and stepped out to see who was there. When she saw Derek's tension, she picked up her stake off the counter.

"Derek?" she asked as she stepped into the room with her. "Who's that?"

"That's Kate Argent," he said grimly. "She broke in."

Buffy didn't hesitate but threw her stake, nailing the woman in her right shoulder. Before Derek or Kate could react, she moved, knocking Kate onto her back.

Kate tried to throw off the much smaller woman, but Buffy pulled out the stake, causing her to cry out in pain. Then she stabbed her on her left shoulder.

"Buffy!" Derek exclaimed; a bit shocked at his girlfriend's display of violence.

"Don't Buffy me," Buffy growled. "This deranged cat massacred your entire family, and I'm about to take away one of her nine lives."

"I thought you didn't kill shape shifters," Kate gasped. She grossly miscalculated and underestimated Derek's slayer girlfriend.

"I don't kill _innocent_ shape shifters, and if you'd stayed human, I'd probably let the police deal with you," Buffy said. "But you're not human, and it's my job to protect humanity from monsters like you." She stabbed Kate in the stomach.

"Derek!" Kate called out. She was losing a lot of blood, and the slayer might actually kill her.

"Buffy, you're getting blood all over the place," Derek commented. It actually brought him an unholy joy to see Kate in such obvious pain. She tortured him more than once and did so with a smile on her face.

"Sorry, babe, but it can't be helped. That this insane bitch thinks she can just march into our place without consequences pisses me off," Buffy said. She threw the stake down and punched the woman in the face. That was even more satisfying.

"I came because I had information on the hunters," Kate spit out. "I wasn't trying to pick a fight."

"You tortured my boyfriend. You killed his family, and then you broke into our place," Buffy listed. She punched her again.

"Let her speak, Buffy. She's like a snake—always slithering around," Derek said. "She might actually know something."

Buffy moved away slightly, so that Kate could sit up. Since Buffy didn't have her stake still in her body, Kate could feel the blood loss slowing.

"So tell us," Buffy said.

"Then you'll kill me?" Kate wondered.

"I might," Buffy said coldly. "But if you don't start talking, I'm going to gut you like a fish. Then I'll burn your body, so there won't be any possible way you resurrect."

Derek knew he should a bit horrified at the ruthless side he was seeing from Buffy, but he wasn't. It made him love her even more.

"The hunters are targeting alphas," Kate said. "Scott's in danger."

Buffy stood to her feet. "You can leave. If I see your face in this town again or around Derek, I will kill you—slowly," she warned.

Cautiously, Kate got to her feet. Blood was still oozing out of her, but she would live if Buffy didn't attack her again. "I will leave," she said. Holding her stomach, she gingerly made her way to the front door.

After she left, Derek turned to Buffy and said, "Watching you stab Kate was a revelation."

Buffy looked at the blood on her hands and grimaced. "Stabbing vamps is so less gory," she said with a sigh. "Sorry for grossing you out."

Derek moved and grabbed her bloody hand, pulling her close. "It was a revelation because I wasn't at all grossed out," he said, bending down to kiss her neck. "How about we go clean you up?"

Buffy grinned. "Shower before dinner? I think I can live with that," she said, dragging him by the hand to the bathroom.

After having too much fun in Derek's unusually large shower, Buffy was dressing when Derek said, "I better call Scott and tell him to be on guard."

Buffy nodded. "Yes," she said. "I'll call Willow, so she can talk to Oz. He's an alpha also."

"The hunters would be stupid to come back to Beacon Hills," Derek said.

"In my experience, bad guys are usually pretty stupid," Buffy said with a snort. She reached for phone. "If those hunters are dumb enough to come after Oz or Scott, they're going to regret it."

"I wonder why my security alarm did not go off when she broke in?" Derek wondered.

Buffy looked sheepish as she admitted, "Oh I forgot to set it."

***** _England*****_

Susie followed the guy who was following the wolves into a non-descript building. She debated on what to do. Her training told her to head back to headquarters and have a backup with her before approaching. However, this was the first real lead they'd gotten, and she didn't want to lose the advantage. Instead of approaching the building, however, she got out her phone to call it in. She'd sit on the place, watching until other slayers arrived.

After sending a text, she put her phone away. Her ears picked up a sound, and she turned just as the baseball was coming down on her head.

****** _TO Be Continued******_

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	16. A Fallen Brother

_*****England*****_

Scott, Malia, and Lydia finished up their dinner with Ethan and Jackson before catching their late train to Italy. They discovered the train came every few hours, so they decided to take the eight o’clock one. They had about an hour window to introduce Ethan and Jackson to the slayer hours in London, so they took a cab. Ethan sat up front while Malia and Lydia squeezed in between the two wolves.

Malia had to be restrained from stabbing the driver with her claws as they nearly died three times before they made it the slayer house. The traffic in London was insane, but their driver was even crazier. It was like traffic rules didn’t even exist in this country.

“Where did you learn to drive?” Lydia asked as they untangled themselves. Scott threw open the door and Malia rolled out.

The cabby grinned. “Welcome to London, sweetheart,” he said. Ethan had already scanned his card, so they didn’t bother giving him a tip.

“Sorry,” Jackson said. “I should have warned you. Cabbies are a bit on the insane side here.”

Too close to the road, Lydia jumped back as a tourist bus came barreling down the lane. “They’re not the only ones. Walking is definitely safer,” Lydia said.

“If I’d maimed him a little, he might drive better in the future,” Malia growled.

Scott laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her close for a kiss. “None of that, babe,” he said. “You don’t want blood on your new outfit.”

Malia was somewhat mollified as they went toward the slayer house door.

Tires squealed, and they turned to see what the commotion was about. A dark colored SUV with tinted windows opened a door, and a person rolled out of it. They were so focused on it that they neglected to see the car behind it. A man wearing a ski mask had a rifle and took aim.

Ethan instinctively moved in front of Scott as the bullets pummeled his body.

Lydia used her voice and let out a cry, the sound wave flipped the car. Slayers came pouring out of the building.

“What the hell?” Kennedy asked as she saw Jackson holding Ethan while Malia had covered the girl thrown out of the SUV. “Is that Susie?”

Malia looked down and hardly recognized the battered face of Susie. “I think so,” she said.

“Call an ambulance!” Jackson cried as Scott tried to stop the blood pouring out of Jackson.

“The shooter is trying to escape,” Lydia called, pointing to the overturned car.

“Get him, Dad!” Malia called out as Peter made his presence known, pouncing on one of the two guys crawling out of the overturned car.

Slayers moved quickly to grab the other guy, trying to escape.

Sirens were heard as the police made their way to the public crime scene.

“We’ve got to get Ethan inside,” Scott said.

“He needs a hospital!” Jackson screamed.

“A regular hospital can’t treat a werewolf,” Scott reminded him.

“We have trained medical inside along with some witches,” Kennedy said.

Scott and Jackson began standing, holding on to Ethan. A slayer stepped in to help Jackson with the larger half of his body.

Lydia looked at Kennedy. “How are we going to explain that overturned car?” she asked.

“Your wolves can stop a car?” Kennedy asked in surprise as she moved down the steps, kicking the large curb-side trashcan into the road, to explain the flipped car.

“I’m not sure, but they didn’t do that,” Lydia said. “I did.”

“How?” Kennedy asked in surprise.

“Her voice is a weapon,” Malia said, watching as the two attempted murderers were dragged over to them.

“Who are you?” Kennedy snarled, getting in front of the closest one.

“Hunters,” Peter said.

“How do you know?” Kennedy asked, looking at the two men.

“They don’t smell supernatural. Why else would they shoot a wolf and beat up but not kill a slayer?” he asked.

“Who are you?” Kennedy asked Peter.

“He’s my stalker,” Malia said, glaring at Peter.

“I’m her father,” Peter said, holding out his hand. “I’m Peter Hale. Your slayer Buffy is dating my nephew.”

Kennedy looked at Malia in surprise. “You didn’t say you were cousins with Buffy’s new man,” she said.

Malia shrugged. “I barely know Derek since I was raised alone in the forest, trapped in my coyote form after my birth mother murdered my sister and adopted mother when she failed to kill me. I didn’t know anyone until about three years ago,” she said. “Derek was gone when I turned human again, so I don’t think of him as my family just like that man is _not_ my father.”

The police arrived, breaking up the discussion. Kennedy looked and saw that the wolves were nowhere to be seen, so they made it inside. She took a deep breath as she prepared to explain what happened to the Scotland Yard.

Giles was directing their guest to take Ethan’s large form to the dining room where they placed him on the big table.

Scott saw the black inky lines spread onto Ethan’s body from each entry wound and looked up in fear. “The bullets were laced with wolfs bane,” he said. 

Ethan had been shot five times, which would be hard to survive without being poisoned. It didn’t look good for him.

***** _Beacon Hills******_

Willow was feeding Oz’s adorable baby while Oz took his morning shower. How could she love a baby so much who wasn’t even hers?

The redheaded baby flashed her a smile as he took another bite of oatmeal. Will enjoyed playing in his food a bit too much, so they always fed him before allowing him to practice with the spoon. That way, they’d know he got some of the food inside him.

When Oz came into the kitchen wearing pants and no shirt, he was toweling his hair dry. Willow noted the changes in his physique since the last time she’d seen him naked. It had been nearly five years now, and he was much more muscular and compact than he’d been before. His hair was no longer colored but was his normal red shade. Her pulsed raced as she gazed at him in wonder—a revelation hit her. She couldn’t stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

“Oz, I love you,” she said simply, handing Will his spoon.

Oz stopped drying his hair and looked at the woman, who had at one time been his entire world. His smile reached his eyes. “I love you, too, Will,” he said.

“I-I mean, I love you like I always did,” she blurted out. “I’m not as gay as I thought.”

Oz laughed. “You were always mine, Will,” he said. He sat down in the chair next to her and picked up her hand. He kissed it. “I’m not ready to put my late wife aside yet, though. It still hurts too much.”

“I understand,” Willow said. And she did. Tara’s death ripped her apart, so she could imagine what Oz was feeling.

“Wait for me?” he asked.

Willow nodded. “Of course,” she said, giving him a warm smile.

The front door open, and they both looked up. Willow stood up, surprised. “Dawn? What in the world are you doing here?” she asked.

“The little turd insisted she wasn’t going to spend another day away from Big Sis,” Faith said, appearing behind her.

“Oh, my God! Is that your son?” Dawn squealed, her eyes latching onto the feeding baby.

“That’s my Will—William, named after his maternal grandpa,” Oz said with a grin.

Dawn hugged Willow and gazed down at the baby. “We’ve never had a baby before,” she said in awe. “He has red hair.” Will looked up at her and grinned, showing her his two front teeth. “Wow! That smile is a weapon!”

“Does Buffy know you’re here?” Willow asked, looking between the two girls.

Faith shrugged. “Doubtful. I told Dawnie to call her, but she said it was be better to be a surprise,” she said. She headed to the coffee pot on the counter.

“If I’m already here, she won’t say no,” Dawn said smugly. “Where is she?”

“She doesn’t live here,” Willow said. “She is at Derek’s.”

Faith looked surprised. “She’s already shaking up with her wolf-boy?” she asked.

“He’s no boy,” Willow said with a smirk. “Wait until you see him.”

“He’s hot, huh?” Faith asked, grinning.

“That’s too tame of a word,” Willow said.

Oz looked at her curiously. “You actually noticed?” he asked her.

“Just ‘cause I sometimes have sex with girls don’t mean I can’t appreciate a well put together man,” she said, giving him cheeky grin as she looked at his own bare form.

“She’s got a point,” Faith said, checking out Oz. “You look pretty damn fine yourself, Oz.”

Oz stood. “I guess I should go get dressed,” he said.

“Don’t do it on my account,” Faith said, smirking.

Willow pulled out her cell. “I better call Buffy and tell her to get over here,” she said, looking down at her phone. “Oh, I have like three missed calls from Giles. Do you know what’s going on?”

“My phone is still turned off from the plane,” Faith said, looking at Dawn.

“Like anyone would call me if something big was going on,” she scoffed.

“Should I call Buffy or Giles first?” Willow asked.

“Buffy,” Faith said as Dawn said, “Giles.”

“Buffy it is,” Willow said, pushing number three on her speed dial. Xander was still number one.

“Willow, did you speak to Giles?” Buffy asked in greeting.

“No, I just saw three missed calls. What’s going on?” Willow asked.

“There was an attack at the London house. Hunters tried to gun down Scott and beat up one of the slayers really bad—she’s in a coma,” Buffy said grimly.

“What? Who?” Willow asked.

“Susie,” Buffy supplied. “Scott’s okay, but his friend Ethan got shot five times. The bullets were laced with wolfs bane. Can you help them? The witches there haven’t been able to stop the spread of the poison. Giles figures he has less than an hour before it hits his heart.”

“I will try,” she said. “Come to the house. Faith and Dawn are here.” She hung up before Buffy had a chance to reply.

“Is everything okay?” Dawn asked.

“Buffy will be here soon, but I have to go to London—Scott needs me,” Willow said.

“How can you get there in time to be any help?” Oz wondered.

Willow looked at Dawn. “Can you donate?” she asked.

Dawn sighed. “Fine,” she said. “My blood opens portals when combined with Willow’s magic.”

“Cool,” Oz said.

“Your room is at the top of the stairs on the left, by the way,” Willow said.

Dawn grinned. “Really? I have my own room already?” she asked.

“Buffy wanted you to have space here—she always planned on bringing you here. She was just going to wait until the semester was over,” Willow said. “I got to call in at school and grab my supplies.”

“I’ll call Mrs. Martin,” Oz offered. “I can cover your classes.”

“Thanks, Oz,” she said. She kissed the baby and looked up at Faith. “Help, Oz, clean up the baby, okay?”

Faith looked horrified. “Me? What do I know about babies?” she asked.

“Don’t drop him, and you’ll be fine,” Willow said, flashing a smile. 

“If you’ll watch him for a few minutes, I’ll make the call for Will and get dressed,” Oz said to Faith.

“What do I do?” Faith asked, panicked.

“Just don’t let him jump out of the highchair,” Oz said without cracking a smile.

Faith’s eyes widened. “He can do that?” she asked.

“Not so far, but there’s a first time for everything,” Oz said, allowing a grin to show on his face. Then he turned and left the room.

Dawn laughed at Faith’s helpless look and ran up the stairs to check out her new room.

Several minutes later, Willow knocked on her bedroom, carrying a small bowl and something else. “I need three drops,” she said. “I got this diabetic needle stabber. It’ll be easier for you.”

Dawn sighed. “Stupid mystical blood. I can’t open portals myself, but you can use my blood to do it,” she said.

“I can teleport short distances, but it takes so much out of me,” Willow said. “This way, I can get there right away.”

Dawn nodded and held out her finger. Less than five minutes later, Willow was walking through the portal and into the London slayer house.

Scott, Malia, Lydia, and Jackson showed various degrees of surprise when a circle opened up in the dining room. It grew in size until Willow walked through it.

Ethan was fading fast. They’d removed the bullets and given him blood, but the poison was almost at his heart.

If Willow couldn’t do something soon, he would die.

***** _Chapter End*****_


	17. The Hunt

_*****England*****_

Willow made it to Ethan just in time. Luckily, the slayer Susie didn’t need her help as her injuries looked worse than they were.

Jackson was so relieved that he hugged Willow. “Thank you!” he said. Then he turned toward his lover, reaching for his hand.

“You’re going to be okay,” Jackson said to Ethan.

Ethan gave him a weak smile and closed his eyes.

Jackson panicked. “He passed out!” he exclaimed.

“No, he’s just resting,” Willow assured him.

Scott grinned. “So happy you could save him,” he said. He held out his hand to her and pulled her in for a hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Willow said. “I think the hunters are gunning for you now.”

“It seems they want to take on slayers now, too,” Giles said grimly.

“So what’s the plan?” Willow asked.

“We’re working on locating every hunter enclave globally right now,” Giles said.

“Are you planning a coordinated attack?” Scott asked.

“Yes,” Giles said nodding. “We hope to move on them within a week.”

“Where do you need me and my friends?” Scott asked, willing to join them to end these attacks.

“We would be happy to have your help,” Giles said. “We should have a plan formed by tomorrow.”

Malia asked Scott, “Are we going to kill Monroe? I really want that bitch dead.”

“You do? I got shot because of that whack job,” Lydia said. “She’s mine.”

“It was my house she shot up,” Scott reminded the girls.

“Well, I need to get back home,” Willow said. “Let us know if there’s anything stateside we can do to help.”

“We will,” Giles said, hugging her goodbye.

“Thanks,” Scott said.

“My pleasure,” Willow said.

“Are you leaving already?” Kennedy asked, a hopeful look in her eye.

“I have a job, and I don’t want to be gone from little Will,” she said.

“Who’s that?” Kennedy asked.

“Oz’s little boy,” Willow said, her eyes lighting up. “He’s the cutest thing.” She pulled out her cell phone and showed Kennedy a picture of him grinning and waving his spoon from his highchair.

Kennedy’s eyes darkened, but she forced a smile on her face. “Yes, he’s very cute,” she agreed. She grabbed Willow’s hand and pulled her aside.

“Kennedy, I really don’t have time to catch up,” Willow said. “I left suddenly.”

“I just wanted a minute, Will. Don’t I deserve that?” Kennedy asked, giving her a beseeching smile.

Willow looked at her in resignation. She had cared a great deal about Kennedy—she still did. However, Kennedy was bossy and controlling. At first, Willow had liked how different she was to Tara, but after a few months, Kennedy’s abrasiveness had started to grate. Her dislike for Buffy and disrespect for Xander had caused more than one fight. Willow decided she had enough, but Kennedy wasn’t quick to let go. Willow had to move to another country to make her point clear.

“I don’t really think I owe you anything, Ken. We dated for a while, but it didn’t work out,” Willow said. “I’ve moved on, so should you.”

“Dated? Is that all we were to each other?” Kennedy asked.

“I care about you, Kennedy,” Willow said. “I always will, but I was never in love with you.”

Kennedy’s eyes filled with tears. “You don’t have to be cruel,” Kennedy said.

“I’m not trying to be, but you are having too much trouble letting go,” Willow said. “My life is in Beacon Hills with Oz now.”

“You’re back with Oz?” Kennedy asked in surprise. Of course, she shouldn’t have been, not after the remarks from the Beacon Hill crew.

Willow shook her head. “No, but he needs me—so does his son. You never really needed me, Ken. I was just there. You liked being with Buffy’s best friend more than you liked being with me.”

“That’s not true!” Kennedy insisted.

“Really?” Willow said. “What’s my favorite food?” Kennedy didn’t answer. “My favorite book?”

“You never told me those things!” she said.

“You never asked. You never asked because you didn’t want to know,” Willow said. “I need to go. Take care.”

Willow turned away from her, transporting herself back home without the aid of a portal.

When she made back to Beacon Hills, she startled Buffy, who was now there with Derek. 

“Give a girl a warning, Will!” Buffy said.

“Sorry,” Willow said. Then she collapsed.

“Is she okay?” Derek asked, alarmed.

“Oh, she’s fine,” Dawn said. “She teleported without my blood, and now she’ll be wiped out for a few hours.”

Derek bent down and picked her off the floor. 

Dawn grinned as Derek took Willow to her room.

“Damn, B,” Faith said, watching Derek’s backside in admiration as he headed to the room on the other side of the kitchen. “That may be the finest piece of ass I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“You better get those eyes off that ass because it’s mine,” Buffy said, glaring at her.

Dawn giggled. “He carried Willow like she weighed nothing,” Dawn said.

“I can do that just as easily,” Buffy said.

“Yes, but you’re a freak and don’t have those muscles,” Dawn said with a sigh.

“Nor would you look that fine while doing it,” Faith added with a grin.

“Okay, you two need to stop drooling over my boyfriend!” Buffy said.

“Well, point me to some other hot werewolves, and we’ll leave yours alone!” Faith said with a smirk.

Buffy shoved her. “I can’t believe you guys are here,” she said. She was surprised to get the call that they were here, but it was so good to have them.

“I’m staying,” Dawn said, giving her that mutinous expression.

“I’m glad,” Buffy said, smiling. “Did you like your room?”

Dawn nodded. “This house is so huge! But not too big like our headquarters. It’s perfect,” she said happily.

“It’s Derek’s family home—he rebuilt it after hunters burned it to the ground,” she said.

“Good for him,” Faith said. 

“How come he’s not living here?” Dawn asked.

“It’s too hard for him—most of his family died in the house fire,” Buffy said.

Derek came out of the kitchen. “I rebuilt the house almost entirely, so no ghosts,” he said with a wry smile. “Just too many memories for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Dawn said, giving him a sympathetic look.

“Thanks,” Derek said.

“So how long are you going to stay, Faith?” Buffy asked her.

Faith shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Until Giles says I need to be somewhere else.” Her phone rang. “Speaking of the devil.”

“What’s up G?” she asked.

Buffy watched her step away to talk to Giles as Derek sat back down next to her on the sofa.

“Do you want to start school tomorrow?” Buffy asked Dawn.

“I brought my transcripts,” Dawn said. “I’m glad to be back in the States. England schools were just too weird.”

“Schools, school,” Faith said, hanging up. “G says there’s a group of hunters in San Francisco.”

“Really?” Derek asked. 

“He wants us to do a targeted attack at all the locations we can find,” Faith said. “We’re going to send a message to them that they need to stop targeting werewolves who don’t harm humans.”

“I’ll call my pack,” Derek said.

“Don’t you mean our pack?” Buffy said with a grin.

“Yes,” he said, rolling his eyes. He pulled out his phone to call Liam.

***** _Later That Evening*****_

Dawn was excited to meet the rest of Derek’s pack since she’d be going to school with them. “Is the banshee here? Giles told me you had a banshee,” she said to Derek as the cars started to unload.

“No, Lydia’s with Giles in London. She’s doing the tour thing with Scott and Malia,” Derek said. “My Uncle Peter is with him.”

Theo got out of Liam’s car and spotted the new teenager. The girl was stunning. “Who is that?” he asked Liam.

Liam didn’t know, but he was about to find out. “Hi,” he said. Then another woman he didn’t know stepped onto the porch. His mouth went dry as the woman was even sexier. 

“So these kids are your team?” Faith asked Derek, not impressed.

Mason could tell by the way the brunette moved that she was a slayer. He’d watched Miss Summers—Buffy—when she walked down the hallway at school. People just instinctively moved out of her way, not consciously realizing a predator was amongst them.

“Guys, this is Faith, Buffy’s number two slayer,” Derek said, pointing at the brunette.

“I knew it,” Mason said to Corey. 

“Are you a slayer?” Liam asked Dawn.

Dawn shook her head. “No, thank God,” she said. “I’m Dawn.”

“I’m Liam,” Liam said, holding out his hand.

Dawn took it, smiling. He was cute. “Are you a wolf?” she asked.

Liam nodded. “I’m Scott’s number two,” he said.

“No, you’re not,” Derek said. “I’m here now, and that would be me.”

Liam didn’t miss a beat. “I’m Scott’s number three,” he said.

“When Stiles isn’t in town,” Derek said with a smirk.

“Okay, so I’m number four,” Liam said, grinning.

“I’m Theo,” Theo said. “I’m last.”

Dawn giggled. “That’s probably where I rank, too,” she said. “Buffy’s my sister.”

Instinctively, Theo and Liam took a step back away from Dawn, causing Derek to look smug while Faith snickered.

“At least they’re not stupid,” Faith pointed out.

“That remains to be seen,” Derek said. He looked at the boys. “Come on inside. We have news.”

Another car pulled up. It was Parrish with Xander. Xander spotted Faith and grinned. “I thought I sensed trouble,” he said.

“You know you missed me!” Faith exclaimed, pulling him in close for a hug. Then she looked at Parrish and whistled. “So who’s the new hottie?”

“This is Jordan Parrish, a deputy and a hellhound,” Xander said.

“No shit? A hellhound?” Faith said, looking him up and down. “He doesn’t look like any dog I’ve ever seen.”

“Because I’m not a dog,” Parrish said, frowning at the new girl. She was beautiful, but he found the frank appraisal off-putting.

“He’s more like what a phoenix would be if they were real,” Xander explained.

“I thought you had deputy training?” Derek asked Xander.

“I do,” Xander said. “Parrish managed to get me pulled for a twenty-four special assignment.”

“The Sheriff did it,” Jordan said when everyone looked at him.

“Are they all here?” Buffy asked, coming to the door. “Xander? I hadn’t had a chance to miss you yet.”

“Yes,” Derek said, ushering them in. “Xander got a pass to join us.”

“For once, I know people in high places who aren’t going to turn into a giant snake and try to eat me,” Xander said with a grin. Everyone who wasn’t from Sunnydale thought he was joking.

“Mason, why weren’t you at track practice?” Buffy asked. “I thought you were joining the track team?”

“Huh?” Mason asked.

“So you can work on your running away skills, remember?” Xander said with a grin.

The group laughed as they moved to settle around the living room. Introductions were made, including the two new slayers. “This is Neveah and Grace, two new slayers who will be joining the team here,” Buffy said, introducing him to a tall willowy brunette, and a short, compact African American. Not all of the high schoolers had met them yet.

“Okay, so we’re heading out at lunch tomorrow to move on a hunter house in San Francisco,” Buffy said. “We’ve located a dozen hot spots that various slayer teams will be moving on around the world, including a big one in London.”

“Any word on where Monroe is?” Liam asked.

“Willow says she has some family in San Francisco, so it’s possible she might be there,” Buffy said.

“What about school?” Mason asked.

“You and Corey are staying here because I need someone to keep an eye on Dawn,” Buffy said, ignoring Dawn’s protest. “She’s trouble-prone.”

“Not true!” Dawn protested.

When Faith, Willow, and Xander all gave her incredulous looks, she protested, “Hey, it’s not me! It’s Buffy’s fault. She’s the reason I have this supposed yummy mystical blood that vampires and demons want to drain, and I’m sister to the oldest slayer!”

“I can stay, too,” Theo volunteered. “Those guys aren’t much help in a fight.”

“Good point,” Buffy said.

Liam gave Theo a dirty look, annoyed he’d managed to figure out a way to get a jump on him with Dawn. However, he wanted to beat some hunters more than he wanted to flirt with the new girl.

Buffy outlined her plan of attack. “Oz with stay here with his son while Xander and Jordan drive around the perimeter and make sure none get away from us,” she explained.

“Is Scott coming back?” Liam asked.

“He’s working with slayers to hit the hunters in London,” Derek said. “They tried to kill him already and nearly killed Ethan instead.”

“Seriously?” Liam asked. 

“Willow went over there and kept the wolfsbane from killing him,” Derek said. 

“How are we dealing with the hunters? Are we going to kill them?” Liam wondered.

“We are going to give them a beatdown,” Buffy said. “If you have to kill to save a life, then do so, but our primary objective is to capture as many as we can. We’re going to do some reconditioning.”

The look in her eyes made the young wolfpack members wary—she was such a contradiction. Buffy was such a girl—even more than Lydia. However, she had a steel backbone, and the fire in her eyes right now revealed the predator that she kept tightly leashed. Liam couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get a chance to see her unleash it.

***** _London, the next day*****_

Ed was pissed. They’d voted to attack the wolves and the slayers. This was a mistake, and he’d been yelling at his fellow hunters about it for the past ten minutes. 

“This is not what I signed up for. I’m not about to take on the slayers. My cousin works for the Council as a maintenance man, and he has told me that the slayers mandate is to safeguard humanity,” Ed said. “They’ve stopped the world from ending more than once.”

“Then why are they consorting with weres?” Kyle, one of the team leaders, asked.

“Because werewolves are humans twenty-seven days a week,” Ed said.

Before the argument could escalate, the door to the warehouse they were in crashed open and two dozen women came in. When the hunters picked up their guns to shoot, their bullets bounced off some invisible shield.

It took less than five minutes for the slayers to subdue them. Ed recognized McCall, the true alpha. An older man was walking next to him.

Giles address the group of hunters. “You are slaughtering innocent women and children in the name of safeguarding humanity. You are nothing but butchers, and you will cease your targeting now,” he said.

“Who are you?” Ed asked.

“No werewolf is innocent—they’re monsters,” Kyle said.

“Monsters are a group who people who terrorize teenagers and leave babies orphaned,” Giles said. “I am Rupert Giles, head of the Watcher’s Council. Most of these girls here are my slayers. You have betrayed the hunter’s code, and the Watchers Council will take you all in for judgement.”

“I told them to stop, but they wouldn’t listen,” Ed said in disgust.

“You confounded your sins by attacking one of ours,” Giles said. “Now you will face the consequences.”

“Load them up,” Scott said. They had zip tied all the hunters and threw them into one of their vans.

“What are you going to do with them?” Peter asked Giles. 

“We’re going to find the ones who can be reasoned with and do some mind wipes of the others,” Giles said.

“Seriously?” Scott asked in surprise.

“They should die,” Peter said.

“If we kill all of them, it would draw undue attention to us,” Giles said. “I have three covens, who are going to work on making sure they never pick up arms against a werewolf again.”

“You guys can do that?” Scott asked in surprise.

“We can,” Giles said. The hunters would learn the hard way not to go after one of his girls.

Peter didn’t like not getting to shed some blood, but he did like knowing they’d get their minds jacked with. He would wait and see if the mind-mojo held. If it didn’t, then he’d have his revenge in blood. Somehow, he didn’t think this Mr. Giles would even object all that much.

***** _San Francisco******_

Buffy led the team into a large house on the outskirts of town. The driveway was about a mile long, so they walked down it.

“Shouldn’t we have waited until night?” Liam asked.

“No, I don’t want their to be any mistakes due to lack of sight,” Buffy said. “They could have families there. We’ll never be like them.”

They took up flanking positions. Xander and Parrish stayed at the end of the drive ready to catch anyone who made it out. The place was fenced in, so it was unlikely that anyone would manage to escape out the backside of the property.

Willow went in first behind Buffy, so she could neutralize any weapons.

These group of hunters were itching for a fight. When their bullets got them nowhere, they threw down their weapons and engaged in hand-to-hand with Buffy and the others.

Derek and Liam worked hard not to kill anyone, so they kept their claws leashed. Liam got hit once in the face when he was distracted by watching Buffy fight.

Buffy, though, just went for the knockout punch whenever she could, wasting very little energy trying to brawl with the human hunters. She didn’t want to accidentally kill someone. Then her eyes locked on a familiar face.

“That’s Monroe!” she called out to Derek, seeing the dark-skinned women trying to get out a side door.

“Will!” Buffy yelled, getting her attention and pointing. “Stop her.”

Willow threw up her hand, immobilizing Monroe.

Liam couldn’t believe it—they finally had Monroe.

***** _To Be Continued*****_

_Did you enjoy this? Leave a kudo or a comment! Thanks!_


	18. One Pack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the story...

_*****Where We Left Off*****_

"So this is Monroe," Buffy said, looking coldly at the attractive black woman.

"You can't hurt me," Monroe said. "I'm human."

"You think you can murder mothers and orphan kids and just get a free pass?" Buffy said. "Do you know who I am?"

Monroe nodded. "You're Buffy Summers, the strongest slayer," she said. "You don't hurt humans."

"Well, she doesn't have to," Faith said. "That's what I'm for." She moved so fast, most human eyes couldn't follow and stabbed the woman in the shoulder. The blow wouldn't kill her, but it caused her to cry out in pain, which had been Faith's intention.

Willow moved closer, eyeing the woman. "She has a soul and yet thought nothing of leading teenagers to become murderers," she said. "My friend Oz never harmed a human in his entire life—he's a true Alpha, and you killed his son's mother. You killed his son's grandparents. _You_ are an evil monster."

"No one should be allowed to live with the power to do what wolves do," Monroe said, clutching her shoulder.

"Newsflash, lady, but there _are_ a hell of a lot of things out there worse than wolves," Buffy said. "I'm a vampire slayer—do you know what those are? Demons who possess the body of the dead and feed off humans. The soul of the human is gone, and a monster—a real monster—takes its place. You have no idea what evil is. I was killed at sixteen by a master vampire, and I came back because a friend revived me. Werewolves don't often feed on humans. When they do kill, slayers or other wolves take care of them. Most can't help being a wolf anymore than I can help being short."

"It's not right," Monroe said weakly.

"So all lions and tigers should be slaughtered because they have the potential to kill humans? That's basically what you're saying," Willow pointed out.

Xander and Parrish came into the room after no one had ran outside. "I guess that was easier than we thought it'd be," Xander observed.

"They were totally outgunned," Liam told him.

"What's not right was the former mayor of my hometown," Buffy said, ignoring the interruption. "He was a human warlock who managed to ascend as a demon when we graduated high school. He killed dozens, including my principal when he transferred into a living demon—you don't know monsters. Your crusade to murder shapeshifters just for being different is specist and wrong."

"We need to make her pay," Liam said.

"Oh, she will," Willow said. "I think I'm going to send her to a very crappy hell dimension."

Derek, though, had other plans and swiped his claws across her throat. "There," he said. "Now she can go to hell the old-fashioned way."

"Derek!" Buffy scolded.

"I'm a wolf, Buffy. This was pack business, and Scott wouldn't have had the stomach to do that," Derek said flatly. "It had to be done."

"I agree," Xander said.

"The Sherriff won't like it," Parrish said, frowning.

"Are you going to arrest me?" Derek asked.

Instead of answering, Parrish moved and put his hand on Monroe's shoulder. His hand became flame and caught her body on fire.

"Willow, make sure the flame is hot enough to consume the body," Buffy told her.

She nodded and raised her hand. The flames burned hotter.

"What are we going to do with the rest of them?" Liam asked, gesturing to the dozen hunters that were beginning to stir.

"Giles said that we are to wipe their memories," Buffy said.

"You can do that?" Liam asked in surprise.

"No, Willow can," Buffy said.

Xander put handcuffs on one near him and handed Liam some zip ties. Jordan followed suit, and all of them were similarly bound.

"I can't do it today. I've used up too much energy," Willow. "It's normally a full day before I can recover from teleporting."

"We need to get them back to Beacon Hill," Buffy said.

"Why?" Derek asked. "This is a huge house. We can stand guard and capture anyone else who comes here. When Willow's ready, we can start with the wiping."

Buffy thought it was good plan and put Neveah and Grace on guard outside, and she'd rotate who kept watch.

Willow went to a room on the first floor to take a nap, so Buffy and Derek went to the kitchen to scavenge some grub.

"Are you pissed?" Derek asked her.

"About you killing Monroe?"

Derek nodded. "Yes," he said.

"Not pissed," Buffy said. "Just disturbed. I don't like that you can so easily take a human life."

"Who says it was easy?" Derek countered. "I just didn't want Willow carrying the burden of sending her to some hell dimension—that seemed crueler. What I did was an act of mercy."

"That's how you see it?" Buffy asked.

Derek nodded. "Don't you?"

"I'm not sure how I see it," Buffy said. "Slayers are responsible for killing things to protect humanity. Killing humans goes against everything in me because we safeguard humanity. But I know what kind of cancer Monroe was, so I'm not exactly angry. Maybe a little disturbed at seeing you take a life."

"You know how you are the natural enemy of vampires?" Derek said. Buffy nodded. "Well, wolves have a natural enemy, and it's hunters. Not only did they trap my family and set our home on fire when some weren't even wolves, but I've been hunted over and over. I've been tortured by them. Kate's been allowed to live and has wreaked havoc, so I can't say that I hesitate anymore when it comes to ending a threat to my life and the lives of people I care about. Letting a threat to the pack live will always come back to bite us—I learned that the hard way."

Buffy had never seen him so impassioned, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. "I love you, and I'm sorry," she said.

Derek felt relief as he held her a long moment, and then he kissed her. "I love you, too," he said when they separated.

He finally had a partner who accepted everything about him.

Life could sometimes be more than death and blood and violence.

It could be beautiful.

***** _Beacon Hills*****_

Stiles was home for Thanksgiving, and it was like he'd entered the Twilight Zone. Derek was smiling and Scott was getting his ass kicked by a beautiful dark-skinned woman, while Peter made out with some brunette he'd never seen.

Liam and Theo were chatting with an attractive teenager while the sofa was filled with redheads. His redhead was sitting with two others while a baby redhead stood and held onto the table.

"What's going on?" Stiles asked.

Lydia looked up and jumped to her feet. "Stiles!" she exclaimed.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up.

Neveah used Scott's distraction to put him down while Lydia ran to embrace Stiles.

Malia waited her turn to hug the first friend and boyfriend that she'd ever had after becoming a werecoyote.

Scott got up and pulled Stiles in for a hug. "Why didn't you call?" he asked.

"I was told by dad that Derek had rebuilt, and everyone hung out here," he said. He saw Parrish and Xander enter carrying pizzas.

"Yep, there's lots of room here," Scott said.

"You remember Willow?" Lydia introduced. "This is Oz and his son Will. Hunters killed his wife."

"I remember," Stiles said, smiling. "It's good to see you."

Derek was holding Buffy's hand as he put his other hand on Stiles' shoulder. "It's about time you came home," he said.

"Some of us actually made it to college on time," Stiles said, giving Lydia and Scott a pointed look.

"Hey, we're starting classes in January, so don't worry," Scott assured him.

"Everything is good here?" Stiles asked.

"Yes, we put down all the hunters. I worked with the slayers overseas to get the ones there," Scott said.

"Derek and I got the ones here," Buffy said.

"The pack is safe," Derek added.

"That's great," Stiles said. "I saw you smiling and thought it might be the end of the world."

Derek grabbed him in a headlock. "You're so not funny," he griped.

Stiles surprised him by twining his leg around Derek's and knocking him off his feet. Then he pounced on his chest, grinning. "Ha! My new FBI moves got you on your back!"

Of course, Derek moved quickly, reserving their positions.

"Remember, Stiles, Derek is taken, so keep those lips to yourself!" Buffy called out.

Both guys looked up at her in horror and separated like they were electrocuted.

Buffy giggled while the rest of the packed laughed in amusement.

Lydia, though, arched her eyebrow and looked intrigued. "They would make a very cute couple," she said.

"That's insane!" Stiles said with a shudder.

Derek smirked. "He would never be so lucky," he said.

"Too bad I don't like to share," Buffy said, giving Lydia a pointed look.

Lydia laughed. "Me either," she said. Then she kissed Stiles, effectively distracting him.

The pack went to the kitchen to eat, and Stiles enjoyed being with his family again.

The pack was changed, but it was still his pack, his family.

"Faith, get your tongue out of Peter's mouth and go get some ice!" Buffy called out.

"F—you," Faith said. "I don't do errands. That's what teenage boys are for." She gave Theo and Liam a look.

"I'll go," Liam said quickly, not wanting to earn the slayer's ire. Unlike Buffy, Faith was scary. Dawn wanted to go, too, so Theo insisted on going.

"So, Stiles, did Lydia tell you that Derek is coaching track at the high school?" Buffy said, grinning up at Derek, who glared at her.

"What?" Stiles asked.

"You should see him in his little track shorts," Buffy said, pulling out her phone.

"You have pictures?" Stiles asked, his eyes lighting up.

Derek grabbed her phone and held it over her head.

"No fair using your height," Buffy said. Then she slugged him in the stomach, so she could grab the phone back.

Stiles laughed. "I think I really like Derek's new girlfriend," he said to Scott and Lydia.

"She's amazing," Scott said, flashing her a fond smile as she scrolled through her phone. Derek, though, wrapped his arms around her. "She's transformed the atmosphere at the school. The entire town knows what we are, but they're not afraid. She's labeled us protectors, and the students adore her."

"Willow and Oz work at the school, too," Lydia added. "Oz works part-time as IT and is helping out the football team, so he's won over a lot of those jocks."

Stiles' phone beeped, and he pulled it out. Buffy had sent him a photo. "This is totally going to be my new screen saver!" he declared as he saw Derek's photo. "I didn't know white legs like that were allowed on school campus."

"Like yours aren't even whiter," Derek growled.

"Yes, well, I was never dumb enough to show them to anyone," Stile said, snickering.

"You try saying no to Buffy and see how well you do," Derek grumbled.

Buffy looked smug, but she still wrapped her arms around Derek's neck, drawing him down for a kiss.

Stiles laughed. "You are so whipped," he remarked. Naturally, Derek flipped him off.

It was great to be home and see his pack thriving. They had a lot to be thankful for.

"So did you hear about Malia's new job?" Lydia asked.

"No," Stiles said.

"She's going to train to be a watcher," Lydia said. "Me, too. Malia's going to take some classes at the junior college, and we're going to work with Mr. Giles in England next summer. They're so many slayers and hardly any watchers. Ethan and Jackson have already started working with him."

"That's great," Stiles said.

Buffy's phone rang, and she pulled away from Derek to answer it. "We'll be right there," she said before hanging up the phone. "Guys, there's trio of demons terrorizing the little league baseball team."

Faith jumped up. "I call dibs," she said. "I've not killed anything in days."

Peter chased after her while Stiles stood to follow.

"Where you going?" Lydia asked.

"To kill demons," Stiles said excitedly.

Lydia waved her hand. "They don't need help to kill three demons. Liam and Theo are probably already there since they went to get ice, and Faith gets really pissy if anyone takes away her fun," she said.

"That's true. I got a black eye last week for killing a vampire she called dibs on," Scott said, laughing. "We had just got back to town, and I hadn't even been introduced to her yet."

"Faith's one of a kind," Buffy said with a smirk. "But you should go and learn something—Malia, too. Knowing how a demon looks up close and in person is important. Those old books Giles will be forcing on you don't always have it right.

Stiles, Lydia, Scott, and Malia all headed to the car.

"I'm glad Stiles is home," Buffy said to Derek. "Now the pack is whole again."

Derek still had trouble believing how transformed the pack was by Buffy and her friends. Scott didn't feel overwhelmed anymore, and Derek could be back in his childhood home again. His uncle Peter had fallen for Faith after one glance. Xander was going to go with Derek on Friday to find a good deal on rings.

At Christmas, he was going to propose to Buffy and marry her in the spring. The Hale family might never be exactly what it once was, but he liked to think his mother was looking down with a smile.

Laughter rang inside her old home, and a child was growing up inside it already. Little Will brought joy to everyone. One day, Buffy would carry his child, and the pack would grow even more.

He didn't want to just be the slayer's wolf anymore—Derek wanted to be her husband.

"Derek, Mom wanted me to ask how early she can come over tomorrow to start the turkey?" Scott asked. Derek's house had the most room, so they were all coming to there for dinner. It would be a massive affair.

"You need to ask Willow since I don't actually live here," he said.

"We'll leave the front door unlocked," Willow said. "Tell her to come whenever she wants."

"Chris is bringing a ham," Scott said.

"We should get started on those pies," Buffy said.

"I've got a new spell to keep little thieves from trying to cut into them before dinner tomorrow," Willow said.

"Really? That's perfect," Buffy said. "You definitely wanna lock down the fridge."

Oz listened to them plan out his first Thanksgiving without his wife and pulled his son into his lap. He and his son had lost so much, but they'd gained even more. His hand reached for Willow's, who flashed him a warm smile as she described her new spell to Buffy. Just like in high school, Willow's touch soothed the beast inside him.

His new pack was amazing. Of course, they weren't exactly new. Xander had told him, "Once a Scooby, always a Scooby."

Being a Scooby was pretty cool.

"Da-da!" Will said.

Being a dad, though, was the best thing ever.

***** _The End*****_

_I had written this has a one-shot over two years ago. The seventeen chapters I added, I hope made it worthwhile. I like to picture these two worlds together. I could've written more, but I decided to end it here. I hope it inspires others to write more Teen Wolf/BTVS stories. Thanks for reading and a special thanks for those that have taken time to review._

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this first chapter, leave me a kudo or a comment!


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